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Peter teaches that prophecy is not to be interpreted privately. In spite of this counsel many have done so causing discord and contention. The Book of Mormon says that many of the plain and precious truths have been taken out of the Bible. A comparison of scriptures will provide an accurate understanding of difficult passages.
A series that tells the stories of some of the lesser-known figures in the Book of Mormon: Jacob a Nephite apostate, Jarom, Zoram, Muloki, Samuel the Lamanite, Antipas, and Teancum.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Jarom
Report of an inspection of an archaeological site in Arizona, which may corroborate the Book of Mormon.
Report of an inspection of an archaeological site in Arizona, which may corroborate the Book of Mormon.
A poster for children with a reading schedule for the Book of Mormon.
Explanation of LDS beliefs concerning Indian descent from the house of Israel as set forth in the Book of Mormon. Connects those beliefs to LDS missionary work with the Indians, the Word of Wisdom, polygamy, racial discrimination, and work with Indian reservations in Canada.
Poor LDS scholarship has damaged Book of Mormon credibility. Raish points out several types of errors: reliance on archaeologists to lend credibility, faulty footnotes, the use of pictures not related to scriptures with which they are associated, and publishing unauthenticated artifacts that sometimes turn out to be fraudulent.
This bibliographic article identifies descriptions of the Hill Cumorah that go beyond Joseph Smith’s account. The author includes firsthand reports of the hill’s appearance at the time the sacred events took place and accounts by visitors who focus on emotional, spiritual, poetic, or nostalgic aspects of their experience. Some of the featured descriptions are written by James Gordon Bennett, Oliver Cowdery, Orson Pratt, George Q. Cannon, Susa Young Gates, photographer George E. Anderson, and Anthony W. Ivins. Taken together, the accounts enrich our understanding and appreciation of the Hill Cumorah and the role it played in the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. This article includes recommendations for post–World War II studies on the hill and a sidebar that discusses a clue to the history of the name Cumorah being associated with the hill near Palmyra.
Review of Ancient American Indians: Their Origins, Civilizations, and Old World Connections (1991), by Paul R. Cheesman and Millie F. Cheesman.
More than 5,600 literature items in many languages are listed covering pro- and anti- positions, theory, and methodology. Detailed bibliographical data and annotations, some very detailed, are provided for most items, reporting how they relate to the topic. This work is reviewed in H.036.
This author requests help in compiling a list of useful reference books that readers can use when studying the Book of Mormon. Such a list would include dictionaries, encyclopedias, and atlases.
Martin Raish suggests that although there are only two dictionaries of Mesoamerican archaeology and culture, both are quite good and can be augmented with some excellent travel guides and wall maps. Together they help readers better understand the terminology of art history and archaeology, become more conversant with the names of sites and cultures, and feel more confident about the general outlines of history in likely Book of Mormon lands. The author specifically recommends two dictionaries, a volume on Mesoamerican religions, an atlas, some traveler’s guides, and some National Geographic Society maps.
This article lists and discusses multiple texts that comment on the Book of Mormon and recommends them as supplements to Book of Mormon study.
Two critics evaluate the book By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture That Launched a New World Religion. Raish opines that Givens’s book effectively explains why a person might accept the Book of Mormon and facilitates a reader’s desire to better understand the Book of Mormon. Bennett adds that Givens approaches his discussion of the Book of Mormon as a scholar, resulting in a more accepting readership. Givens also studies the Book of Mormon with respect to its role in promoting the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a worldwide religion.
Book review.
Superseded by Sorenson and Raish 1990.
An attempt to prove the Book of Mormon through external evidence led to a study of the book that opened the author’s mind to concepts that had previously been blind spots: the peace of God, prayer, and man’s relationship with God.
A collection of written materials concerning horses in pre-Columbian America from the fifty years preceding 1933.
Examining the life of Professor Anthon proved him to be an impostor. He knew French well enough to translate a Frenchman’s work, and he published it without giving credit where it was due. Perhaps he was “bluffing” concerning his knowledge of Egyptian.
Gives the background of Solomon Spaulding’s manuscript and its similarities to the Book of Mormon. Concludes that the resemblances between the two works are superficial, and that those who supported the Spaulding theory were “motivated by revenge and a determination to overthrow the church”
The Book of Mormon is the most important teaching tool for youth. It portrays real characters and the results of obedience.
The Book of Mormon offers the solution to every great problem the world ever encountered with such clarity and simplicity that even children can understand the messages.
The Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants are the accepted standard scriptures of the Church following its reorganization. They determine Church government, doctrine, and practices of the Church. Together they solidify the saints into one faith.
A polemical tract against Mormonism and the Book of Mormon, attempting to demonstrate that the Book of Mormon contradicts many Mormon teachings.
Part of a six-part video series called Conversations about Hugh Nibley.
Learn more about Hugh Nibley by watching “A Conversation about Hugh Nibley with Jack Welch.” Enjoy the inspiring untold stories of his life and work in the new book Hugh Nibley Observed, available in hardcover, softcover, digital, and audio formats.
Jack Welch has been a firsthand participant in some of the most important Book of Mormon research. In addition, as the catalyst that led to the formation of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) in 1979, no one is in a better position than Jack to tell the stories of its beginning and the important role of Hugh Nibley in the organization and its publications, including the nineteen-volume Collected Works of Hugh Nibley.
““The Book Nobody Wants”: Hugh Nibley and the Book of Mormon” (2021)
“What Was Hugh Nibley Thinking About When He Landed His Jeep on the Beach on D-Day?” (2021)
Part of a six-part video series called Conversations about Hugh Nibley.
Enjoy the inspiring untold stories of Hugh Nibley’s life and work in the new book Hugh Nibley Observed, available in hardcover, softcover, digital, and audio formats.
In this video, Kirk Magleby, involved for many years with FARMS and a principal actor in Book of Mormon Central since its inception, recounts how Hugh Nibley was a model to Kirk and his friends from his formative years to the present day.
““One Peep at the Other Side”: What Did Hugh Nibley’s Near-Death Experience Teach Him About the Purpose of Life?” (2021)
“How Did Hugh Nibley Become a Spiritual Mentor to an Atheist Basketball Star from Croatia?” (2021)
Review of Sharon J. Harris, Enos, Jarom, Omni: A Brief Theological Introduction (Provo, UT: The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2020). 144 pages. $9.95 (paperback).Abstract: Sharon Harris, a professor of English at Brigham Young University, offers an analysis of the theology of the “small books” of Enos, Jarom, and Omni in this next installment of The Book of Mormon: Brief Theological Introductions by the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. Harris argues that the theology of these small books focuses on the covenant with the Nephites and Lamanites, the importance of genealogy, and the role kenosis plays in several of these Book of Mormon prophets. Harris presents both new and familiar readings of these compact books, providing a fair contribution to their study.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Jarom
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Omni
Book of Mormon Topics > Criticisms and Apologetics > Book Reviews
Abstract: Biblical “minimalists” have sought to undermine or de-emphasize the significance of the Tel Dan inscription attesting to the existence of the “house of David.” Similarly, those who might be called Book of Mormon “minimalists” such as Dan Vogel have marshaled evidence to try to make the nhm inscriptions from south Arabia, corresponding to the Book of Mormon Nahom, seem as irrelevant as possible. We show why the nhm inscriptions still stand as impressive evidence for the historicity of the Book of Mormon.
Over the last few years, several Latter-day Saint scholars have commented on how the socio-religious setting of Judah in the late-seventh century bc informs and contextualizes our reading of the Book of Mormon, especially that of 1 and 2 Nephi. Particular emphasis has been placed on how Lehi and Nephi appear to have been in opposition to certain changes implemented by the Deuteronomists at this time, but Laman’s and Lemuel’s views have only been commented on in passing. In this paper, I seek to contextualize Laman and Lemuel within this same socio-religious setting and suggest that, in opposition to Lehi and Nephi, they were supporters of the Deuteronomic reforms.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 2 Nephi
Old Testament Scriptures > Deuteronomy
Review of Jerry D. Grover, Jr., Geology of the Book of Mormon. Vineyard, UT: Self-Published, 2014. 233 pp. +xi, including index and references. $39.99.
Abstract: Over recent decades, several Latter-day Saint scholars and scientists have offered analysis and comparison to geologic events and the destruction recorded in 3 Nephi 8-9. Jerry Grover makes an important contribution to this literature as he provides background on geologic processes and phenomena, details the geologic features of the Tehuantepec region (Mesoamerica), and applies this information to not only the description of 3 Nephi 8-9, but other incidents in the Book of Mormon likely connected to geologic events. In doing so, Grover yields new insights into the narratives he examines, and adds clarity to geographic details that have been subject to varying interpretations. .
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 3 Nephi
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Abstract: From the very beginning, Joseph’s story about the origins of the Book of Mormon seemed wild and unbelievable. Today, however, Joseph’s account enjoys a high degree of corroboration from (1) eyewitness accounts confirming Joseph’s possession of actual metal plates and other artifacts, with some even corroborating the involvement of an angel in providing access to the record; (2) eyewitness reports on the process of producing the text; and (3) evidence from the original manuscript. This evidence is reviewed here, and the implications it has for the Book of Mormon’s origin are considered. .
Abstract: Latter-day Saint scholars generally agree that “the place called… Nahom,” where Ishmael was buried (1 Nephi 16:34) is identified as the Nihm tribal region in Yemen. Significantly, a funerary stela with the name y s1mʿʾl — the South Arabian equivalent of Ishmael — was found near the Nihm region and dated to ca. 6th century bc. Although it cannot be determined with certainty that this is the Ishmael from the Book of Mormon, circumstantial evidence suggests that such is a possibility worth considering.
“A KnoWhy is a short essay… about some brief historical, archaeological, cultural, linguistic, literary, legal, devotional, or prophetic insight in the Book of Mormon. Individually, these pieces are about very specific topics: knowing why Nephi wrote in Egyptian (chapter 5), knowing why Jacob talked about polygamy (chapter 64), knowing why Abinadi was ’scourged’ with faggots (chapter 93), or knowing why Alma would talk about Melchizedek (chapter 117). In many cases, we profess less-than-definitive answers, but rather offer some reasons for why these things might be as they are in the Book of Mormon. As a collective body, these KnoWhys provide more than possible answers to specific questions. Combined, they are about knowing why the Book of Mormon is amazing, knowing why it is beautiful, knowing why it speaks to our hearts and minds so powerfully, knowing why it is so uniquely inspiring, and ultimately knowing why the Book of Mormon is true in so many ways.” [Editors]
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
It was not long after the Book of Mormon was published before Nephi’s statement that he wrote using “the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians” (1 Nephi 1:2) started raising eyebrows. It has continued to perplex even the best LDS scholars, who have put forward no fewer than five different interpretations of the passage. Some have even pointed out that there seems to be no logical reason for Nephi’s statement, since anyone who could read the text would know what language it was written in.
I suggest that the reason the phrase has remained hard to interpret is that Nephi’s statement continues to be interpreted without any context. And this is so despite the fact that Egyptian writing by Israelite scribes has been known and attested to in Nephi’s very time period since at least the 1960s. Though Latter-day Saint scholars have known and written about these writings, they have generally used them just as evidence for the Book of Mormon or to bolster support for preexisting theories about Nephi’s language, rather than using those texts to create a context in which Nephi’s statement can be interpreted.
A strong case has been made by John A. Tvedtnes and Jeffrey R. Chadwick that Lehi was a metalworker by profession. Although the text gives several indications of Nephi’s (and by implications, Lehi’s) familiarity with the craft of working metals, prominent Book of Mormon scholar John L. Sorenson nonetheless disagreed with this assessment on the grounds that, “it would be highly unlikely that a man who had inherited land and was considered very wealthy (1 Nephi 3:25) would have been a metalworker, for the men in that role tended to be of lower social status and were usually landless.” More recent findings, however, are changing the picture.
Abstract: Jeffrey R. Chadwick has previously called attention to the name ŚRYH (Seraiah/Sariah) as a Hebrew woman’s name in the Jewish community at Elephantine. Paul Y. Hoskisson, however, felt this evidence was not definitive because part of the text was missing and had to be restored. Now a more recently published ostracon from Elephantine, which contains a sure attestation of the name ŚRYH as a woman’s name without the need of restoration, satisfies Hoskisson’s call for more definitive evidence and makes it more likely that the name is correctly restored on the papyrus first noticed by Chadwick. The appearance of the name Seraiah/Sariah as a woman’s name exclusively in the Book of Mormon and at Elephantine is made even more interesting since both communities have their roots in northern Israel, ca. the eighth–seventh centuries BCE.
Review of Wade E. Miller, Science and the Book of Mormon: Cureloms, Cumoms, Horses & More (Laguna Niguel, California: KCT & Associates, 2010). 106 pages + viii, including two appendices and references cited, no index.
Abstract: Anachronisms, or out of place items, have long been a subject of controversy with the Book of Mormon. Several Latter-day Saints over the years have attempted to examine them. Dr. Wade E. Miller, as a paleontologist and geologist, offers a some new insights on this old question, especially regarding animals mentioned in the Book of Mormon, including a report on some preliminary research which might completely change the pre-Columbian picture for horses in America. Overall, this is an indispensable resource on Book of Mormon anachronisms.
Abstract: The story of the Israelites getting bitten in the wilderness by “fiery serpents” and then being miraculously healed by the “serpent of brass” (Numbers 21:4–9) is one of the most frequently told stories in scripture — with many of the retellings occurring in the Book of Mormon. Nephi is the first to refer to the story, doing so on two different occasions (1 Nephi 17:41; 2 Nephi 25:20). In each instance, Nephi utilizes the story for different purposes which dictated how he told the story and what he emphasized. These two retellings of the brazen serpent narrative combined to establish a standard interpretation of that story among the Nephites, utilized (and to some extent developed) by later Nephite prophets. In this study, each of the two occasions Nephi made use of this story are contextualized within the iconography and symbolism of pre-exilic Israel and its influences from surrounding cultures. Then, the (minimal) development evident in how this story was interpreted by Nephites across time is considered, comparing it to the way ancient Jewish and early Christian interpretation of the brazen serpent was adapted over time to address specific needs. Based on this analysis, it seems that not only do Nephi’s initial interpretations fit within the context of pre-exilic Israel, but the Book of Mormon’s use of the brazen serpent symbol is not stagnant; rather, it shows indications of having been a real, living tradition that developed along a trajectory comparable to that of authentic ancient traditions.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 2 Nephi
Old Testament Scriptures > Numbers
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Old Testament Scriptures > 1 & 2 Kings/1 & 2 Chronicles
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Abstract: The story of believers being nearly put to death before the appearance of the sign at Christ’s birth is both inspiring and a little confusing. According to the Book of Mormon, the sign comes in the 92nd year, which was actually the sixth year after the prophecy had been made. There is little wonder why even some believers began to doubt. The setting of a final date by which the prophecy must be fulfilled, however, suggests that until that day, there must have been reason for even the nonbelievers to concede that fulfillment was still possible; yet after that deadline it was definitively too late. An understanding of Mesoamerican timekeeping practices and terminology provides one possible explanation.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 3 Nephi
Abstract: The “first steps” of Mormon history are vital to the faith claims of the Latter-day Saints. The new volume Exploring the First Vision, edited by Samuel Alonzo Dodge and Steven C. Harper, compiles research into the historical veracity of Joseph Smith’s First Vision narrative which shows the Prophet to have been a reliable and trustworthy witness. Ultimately, historical investigation can neither prove nor disprove that Joseph had a theophany in the woods in 1820. Individuals must therefore reach their conclusions by some other means.
Review of Samuel Alonzo Dodge and Steven C. Harper, eds. Exploring the First Vision. Provo, Utah: BYU Religious Studies Center, 2012. 338 pp. with index. $25.99If the beginning of the promenade of Mormon history, the First Vision and the Book of Mormon, can survive the crisis, then the rest of the promenade follows and nothing that happens in it can really detract from the miracle of the whole. If the first steps do not survive, there can be only antiquarian, not fateful or faith-full interest in the rest of the story.
Martin E. Marty ((Martin E. Marty, “Two Integrities: An Address to the Crisis in Mormon Historiography,” Journal of Mormon History 10 (1983): 9, capitalization altered.)).
Review of John L. Lund. Joseph Smith and the Geography of the Book of Mormon. The Communications Company, 2012. 209 pp. + xviii, including index.In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?
–Joseph Smith Jr.
.
Abstract: The “tongue of angels”
has long been a point of interest to Latter-day Saints, who wonder whether it really is as simple as speaking under the influence of the Spirit or if it might mean something more. Drawing on the structure of Nephi’s record and the interactions with angels that Nephi recorded, we learn that this notion of speaking with the tongue of angels has connections with ancient Israelite temple worship and the divine council. Nephi places the act of speaking with the tongue of angels at the culmination of a literary ascent, where one must pass through a gate (baptism) and by a gatekeeper (the Holy Ghost). This progression makes rich allusions to imagery in the visions of Lehi, Nephi, and Isaiah, where these prophets were brought into the presence of the Lord, stood in the divine council, and were commissioned to declare the words of the Lord. Nephi’s carefully crafted narrative teaches that all are both invited and commanded to follow the path that leads to entrance into the Lord’s presence, and ultimately grants membership into the heavenly assembly.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Old Testament Scriptures > Isaiah
Old Testament Scriptures > Jeremiah/Lamentations
Old Testament Scriptures > Ezekiel
The eyewitness testimony makes it virtually indisputable that Joseph Smith had a real set of metal plates, a fact that even skeptical scholars have accepted. Likewise, the practice of writing on metal plates in antiquity is well-known, as thousands of ancient metal documents have been discovered. But some still raise questions about whether the Book of Mormon plates are consistent with known ancient examples, and hypothesize that Joseph made a fake set of plates to fool his followers. To address this issue, I compare the descriptions of the plates given by the witnesses (both official and unofficial) who saw and/or handled the plates for themselves with authentic metal plates and other artifacts from the ancient and medieval worlds. Features such as their appearance, how they were bound and sealed, the size of both individual plates and the bound set, and the characters said to be on the plates can be directly compared with real-world examples of pre-modern inscriptions, metal plates, and other metallic artifacts. While there is no single artifact that directly compares with the Book of Mormon plates, every detail has precedent and is within the scope of practices and capabilities of pre-modern peoples. In contrast, it would have been difficult for someone unskilled in metallurgy (such as Joseph Smith) to create a fake set of plates consistent with the specifications provided by the witnesses. As such, it seems likely that the witnesses were describing a real, tangible, ancient artifact that they saw and handled. This comparative study of the metal plates with known ancient artifacts also helps us deepen our appreciation for the expensive and labor-intensive process that real ancient people endured to create the plates and then painstakingly engrave their record for our benefit today.
Elder Rasband gives examples of President Nelson sharing the Book of Mormon, describes how he has tried to follow the prophet’s example, and invites all to do the same. Our living prophet is doing his part to flood the earth with the Book of Mormon. We must follow his lead.
“Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.” I reaffirm this promise given by the Lord in the early days of the Restoration of this Church. I pray that each of us will have the privilege of enjoying righteous friendships and mentoring relationships as we grow together in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
RSC Topics > G — K > Grace
RSC Topics > G — K > Humility
Gives an historical account of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon with color illustrations for children. B. Keith Christensen, illustrator
Three evidences for the Book of Mormon are available—external, internal, and spiritual. Offers “seven key concepts” for identifying various internal evidences that “carry within them a spirit of authenticity”
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Old Testament Scriptures > Numbers
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Old Testament Scriptures > 1 & 2 Kings/1 & 2 Chronicles
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 1 Nephi
Old Testament Scriptures > Isaiah
Old Testament Scriptures > Numbers
Old Testament Scriptures > Joshua
Old Testament Scriptures > Judges
Old Testament Scriptures > Psalms/Proverbs/Ecclesiastes/Song of Solomon
Old Testament Scriptures > Ezekiel
Old Testament Scriptures > Twelve Minor Prophets
Old Testament Scriptures > 1 & 2 Kings/1 & 2 Chronicles
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 2 Nephi
John Welch and Tim Rathbone discuss what Joseph Smith and his companions said about translating the Book of Mormon. They document the intense period of activity from April to June 1829, during which nearly all the translation took place.
The Journal of Book of Mormon Studies was founded in 1992 to be a forum through which faithful LDS scholars could highlight their research on the historical, linguistic, cultural, and theological contexts of the Book of Mormon. Since its founding by Stephan D. Ricks, four other scholars have served as editors of this publication: John L. Sorenson, S. Kent Brown, Andrew H. Hedges, and Paul Y. Hoskisson. Under these scholars’ stewardship, the Journal has developed into the flagship publication of the Maxwell Institute. This article features not only the history of the Journal but also perspectives from each of the editors.
By definition, order means being in the proper relationship or arrangement. In a gospel context, order is found in enjoying a harmonious relationship with God. This chapter will examine what the Book of Mormon teaches about order, how students of the Book of Mormon can order their lives, and the related doctrines of ordination and ordinances.
RSC Topics > L — P > Priesthood
BYU obtained an early advertisement for the Book of Mormon and is doing research on its origin.
Joseph Smith received the golden plates on the Israelite Day of Remembrance (or Rosh ha-Shanah). Biblical references and interpretation by Jewish sages through the centuries set this day as the day God would remember his covenants with Israel to bring them back from exile. Also called the Feast of Trumpets, this day features ritual trumpet blasts to signify the issuance of revelation and a call for Israel to gather for God’s word of redemption. The day, which is set at the time of Israel’s final agricultural harvest, also symbolizes the Lord’s final harvest of souls. Furthermore, it initiates the completion of the Lord’s time periods, the Days of Awe, and signifies the last time to prepare for final judgment and the Messianic Age. The coming forth of the Book of Mormon is literally fulfilling such prophecies of the day.
Includes a report from the History of Iowa stating that man and horses were in Iowa, Nebraska, soon after the glaciers melted. These people built homes, made cloth, and built mounds. The author notes similarities between the History of Iowa report and the account of the Jaredites.
This polemical book recounts the history of the Book of Mormon and examines selected verses from the book in an attempt to discredit it.
President Benson’s challenge to put Book of Mormon characters to music, film and drama led Jack Jenkins to write a play in which Abinadi was the main character. Members and non-members who attended the performances were inspired.
Sunday School lessons for youth. Gives an outline of the text covered each week. Integrates teachings of Book of Mormon prophets with examples from daily life.
Some critics of the Book of Mormon have suggested that Joseph Smith produced the book through a process known as “automatic writing,” a rapid flow of language claimed to be generated through paranormal means such as trance-like states or claimed communications with spirits. This paper presents an overview of some prominent claims of automatic writing and examines the historical and scientific evidence for the authenticity of at least some of these cases. After discussing the similarities between these works and the Book of Mormon, the paper outlines a number of features in the Book of Mormon that clearly differentiate it from any known case of automatic writing, features such as the presence of Near Eastern and Mesoamerican geographic, cultural, and linguistic details that were unknowable to anyone in 1830. Based on this and other evidence, the Book of Mormon does not fit the profile of automatic writing but is best explained by Joseph’s own account of its ancient and divine origins.
Review of Earl M. Wunderli, An Imperfect Book: What the Book of Mormon Tells Us about Itself (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2013), 328pp + Appendices, Maps, and Index.
Earl Wunderli, an attorney who has made a lifelong study of the Book of Mormon, concludes that the book is a product of Joseph Smith’s mind and imagination. In doing so, Wunderli marshals evidence and presents his argument as if he were an attorney defending a client in court. Unfortunately, Wunderli’s case suffers from the same weaknesses and limitations of other naturalist criticism in that it exaggerates Joseph Smith’s intellectual and cultural background and compositional skills while ignoring the Book of Mormon’s deep structure, narrative complexity, and often intricate rhetorical patterns.
The Book of Mormon appears replete with examples of verbal and dramatic irony, something unlikely to have been produced intentionally by Joseph Smith with his level of rhetorical and expressive skills. Dramatic irony occurs when an exceeding young Nephi, who is large in stature, admires the exquisite sword of Laban and then grapples with the distasteful command to kill Laban with that sword. Having passed the test, Nephi has matured into a man large in stature. Dramatic irony also occurs in Abinadi’s experience with King Noah and in the similar experiences of Alma and Korihor with the power of speech and silence. Verbal irony is apparent in Lehi’s expectations for Laman to be like a river, continually running into the fountain of all righteousness, and for Lemuel to be like a valley, firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord. Nephi also refutes his older brothers’ false knowledge by reminding them of what they already know.
This comparison of Joseph Smith and John Milton focuses on their literary output and especially the preparation each had for dictating a long religious work, in Milton’s case Paradise Lost and in Smith’s the Book of Mormon. Most notable authors, including Milton, had a long apprenticeship that involved writing several “try works,” practice works that served as tutorials and stepping stones preparing their authors for their magnum opus. Joseph Smith had no such trial period for learning how to weave together intricate subplots, multitudes of characters, and historical background detail. Milton, in particular, had all the advantages of a first-rate English education. Smith, by contrast,had the most meager of educational opportunities. According to his wife, at the time he dictated the Book of Mormon, he “could neither write nor dictate a coherent and well-worded letter.” In spite of these disadvantages, Smith dictated most of the Book of Mormon over a period of less than three months, whereas Milton’s dictation of Paradise Lost took place over more than a decade. While it has been popular since 1830 for critics to debunk or diminish the Book of Mormon, it has stood the test of time in more ways than one.
I am a literary critic who has spent a professional lifetime reading, teaching, and writing about literary texts. Much of my interest in and approach to the Book of Mormon lies with the text—though not just as a field for scholarly exploration.
Abstract: This is a follow-up to my article, “Joseph Smith and the American Renaissance,” published in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought in 2002.
My purpose in writing that article was to consider Joseph Smith in relation to his more illustrious contemporary American authors — Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Walt Whitman. In that article I tried to demonstrate that in comparison with these writers, Joseph Smith did not possess the literary imagination, talent, authorial maturity, education, cultural milieu, knowledge base, or sophistication necessary to produce the Book of Mormon; nor, I argued, had he possessed all of these characteristics, nor was the time in which the book was produced sufficient to compose such a lengthy, complex, and elaborate narrative. This addendum takes the comparison one step further by examining each writer’s magnum opus and the background, previous writings, and preliminary drafts that preceded its publication — then comparing them with Joseph Smith’s publication of the Book of Mormon. That is, each of the major works of these writers of prose, fiction, and poetry as well as the scriptural text produced by Joseph Smith has a history — one that allows us to trace its evolution from inception to completion. .
A comparison of the character of Alma in Melville’s Mardi and the two Almas in the Book of Mormon.
The Jewish Midrash, which runs to some twenty volumes, is a treasure house of “rabbinical exegeses, extrapolations, interpretations and expansions on the Torah.” Traditional midrashim, based on both oral and written tradition, constitute an extensive library of Jewish insight into the possible interpretations of scripture. Here, Rees argues that Latter-day Saints should consider writing midrashim based on Restoration scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. Since Latter-day Saints believe that the Book of Mormon was written by Israelites who began their long, exiled history in the New World with the Law and the Prophets up to Jeremiah, he stresses that it seems inviting to consider it a source, like the Torah, not only for interpretation but for invention, expansion, and imagination.
I invite you to take opportunities in department and college councils to counsel together about ways in which you might help all members of the BYU campus community feel a greater sense of belonging.
Gives a synopsis of the book of Mormon, written by the prophet Mormon, who describes the fall of the Nephites and includes his final plea to future generations.
The Book of Mormon teaches faith in Christ, a message relevant for our time or any time. Believers progress from knowing the Savior, to loving and being obedient to him, and ultimately desiring to share the message about him. Our commitment to the gospel is reflected in our ability to be obedient.
4 Nephi narrates four generations of peace, a time when there could not have been a happier people (4 Nephi 1:16). It also foreshadows the later destruction of the Nephites following their gradual rejection of the gospel.
RSC Topics > T — Z > Testimony
A tract that briefly recites the account of Jesus’ ministry to the Lehites. Offers archaeological and other evidences to substantiate the event.
Authors make reference to secular evidences related to the Book of Mormon that are offered by non- LDS scholars in such matters as medicine and astronomy. They also relate the Book of Mormon to passages in Ezekiel 37, Jeremiah 49, Genesis 49, and Isaiah 29.
Suggests a method of study for the Book of Mormon: read to learn only the story; reread marking every reference to Jesus Christ; read the third time looking for passages that expound doctrine, principles, ordinances, and ideas.
A historical work against Mormonism. Volume 1 discusses Joseph Smith’s character and the events surrounding the appearance of the Book of Mormon. The author supports the Spaulding theory.
Results of the author’s use of statistical analysis to determine how many individuals authored the Book of Mormon. Results: “The odds against these books being the work of one author exceeded 100 billion to one!” Also compares Book of Mormon authors with Joseph Smith’s contemporaries, specifically men suggested as having been authors of the Book of Mormon. Result: “None of the wordprints of the modern authors resembled the Book of Mormon wordprints at all” Also did cluster analysis, discriminant analysis, and classification analysis. A brief description is given of each with the results.
A reaction to an article by D. James Croft (Sunstone, March-April 1981) who challenges the methodology of an earlier article by Larsen and Rencher (BYU Studies, Spring 1980). Larsen and Rencher claim that different word styles of each Book of Mormon author can be reasonably maintained though they recognize that their studies have limitations.
RSC Topics > L — P > Love
RSC Topics > Q — S > Repentance
RSC Topics > T — Z > Unity
RSC Topics > G — K > Joseph Smith
Tests the claim that the Book of Mormon was written by a number of ancient authors using an analysis called “wordprint” or the science of stylometry. Discusses potential non-Book of Mormon authors, Manova, cluster analysis, and classification analysis.
Sets forth criteria to qualify writings to be called scripture and then asks if the Book of Mormon is scripture. Scripture must center on God, reveal Christ, have a moral and ethical approach to its teachings, and has to agree with previously accepted scripture. Issues a challenge for the reader to find out for oneself whether or not the Book of Mormon is scripture.
A pamphlet that summarizes the origin and story of the Book of Mormon. States that the Book of Mormon is evidence that the Lord yet reveals his will to humanity in modern times.
The Book of Mormon stands with the Bible and the Doctrine and Covenants to testify that God works among all people in all places. This pamphlet tells the story and origin of the Book of Mormon. It points out its uses and issues an invitation to heed its inspired message.
A committee was appointed to compare the first edition of the Book of Mormon with the 1884 edition used by the RLDS church. Though the changes are many, the doctrine is not affected.
A proposed outline for institute teaching of the Book of Mormon presented by the RLDS church. Included are notes on the doctrinal, historical, geographical, archaeological, linguistic, evangelical, and biblical aspects of the book.
Announcement of a writing contest. Church members are invited to write poetry, fiction, or scholarly works on Book of Mormon topics.
Retells the events of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon as told by Joseph Smith and his associates.
An overview of the Book of Mormon. Suggests three ways of reading the book: read from start to finish, follow the historical sequence, or search specific doctrines.
Explains the manner in which the Spaulding Manuscript was preserved and placed in the possession of the RLDS church. Includes letters from James H. Fairchild stating that the Spaulding theory for the Book of Mormon need be relinquished and from L. L. Rice explaining how he had obtained the manuscript. Includes a reprint of the manuscript.
A series of one-page pamphlets that presents Book of Mormon passages concerning such topics as: “Reality of God,” “Deity of Jesus,” “Salvation Through Christ,” “Agency of Man,” “Immortality of Man,” “Baptism,” “Miracles and the Gifts of the Spirit,” and the “Kingdom of God” Each pamphlet contains three or four passages of scripture from the Book of Mormon that exemplify the doctrine expressed in the title.
Contains an adaptation of 3 Nephi 1-14, followed by an overview of the Book of Mormon and its coming forth. The purpose of the book is to be a witness of God’s dealings with man and the messiahship of Christ. Old Testament scriptures are fulfilled by the book and archaeology testifies of its truthfulness. It does not supersede the Bible, but sustains it.
Rebuttal to an article published in Argus
Selections of scriptures from the Book of Mormon as they relate to varying principles and subjects contained in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Topics covered include belief, steadfastness, humility, the Spirit, hope, and sacrifice.
Contains specific outlines of various studies presented at a conference during the dates mentioned above. The subjects discussed included the Book of Mormon story, teachings particular to the Book of Mormon, and evidences within the Book of Mormon that support its authenticity.
An overview of the Book of Mormon that outlines and deals with the peoples, lands, and books contained in the Book of Mormon.
Guide for standardized pronunciation of Book of Mormon names. Includes people and places and a scripture reference for each.
This book of questions and answers deals with the subject of the Book of Mormon on pages 119 to 142. Discusses the origin of the book, different editions, changes in the text, the original manuscript, and others.
Revelation is the transmitting of God’s love and purposes for individuals or mankind. There are a multitude of ways in which revelation is received—through study and meditation or on an intuitive or emotional level. Thus, the honest may feel disagreement concerning interpretation of
Mormons who have been led astray from the truth by Brigham Young and his party should take heed to the Book of Mormon, which condemns polygamy.
A missionary tract centered upon the Book of Mormon that comprises a dialogue of questions and answers, an overview of its contents, an explanation that it teaches of Jesus Christ, and biblical scriptures about the book.
Faith-promoting stories of people who received a testimony of Jesus Christ after reading the Book of Mormon.
Discusses the phrase “and it came to pass” in the Book of Mormon and its importance as a token of Hebrew abridgment.
Because of fear, the people of Palmyra tried to prevent publication of the Book of Mormon. For this reason two copies of the translation were made and only portions went to the publisher at a time. A covenant was made among people in the community that not a single copy would be bought. Despite this difficult beginning, the Book of Mormon has become the second best seller in the nation, published also in Braille.
It would have been impossible for an uneducated farm boy to have written the text of the Book of Mormon without provincialism upon every page. Anachronisms and other errors are not part of it. Much information that has recently been uncovered by archaeologists support the book. Though Shakespeare was an accomplished writer his works contain modernized character’s attire.
The prophet Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by means of the seer stone, the Urim and Thummim. Excerpts from the journals of Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, Emma Smith, and Martin Harris declare his methods of translation. The characters appeared sentence by sentence and the translation below it. George Reynolds and B. H. Roberts suggest that Moroni may have assisted him.
A literary study of the Bible assists in understanding its origin, purpose, and interpretation; the same is true of the Book of Mormon. Religious truths are conveyed in a distinctive way. The Book of Mormon is mainly narration of a pedantic style with a universal appeal. It was far more important to both recorder and translator that the book be understood than to be a literary masterpiece.
Uses the Bible, Book of Mormon, and historical accounts from the early writers of the Church to show that the Urim and Thummim and other “media” have been used since ancient times to receive communication from God. Joseph Smith also employed such media to translate the scriptures.
Aaron chose missionary service over the opportunity to serve as king and suffered hardship and inhumane treatment to preach the gospel to the Lamanites. Though little is known about him, the Book of Mormon sets forth the greatness of his character.
Aaron chose missionary service over the opportunity to serve as king and suffered hardship and inhumane treatment to preach the gospel to the Lamanites. Though little is known about him, the Book of Mormon sets forth the greatness of his character.
Deals with aspects of agriculture in the Book of Mormon.
Deals with aspects of agriculture in the Book of Mormon.
An article for youth that draws attention to the fact that the downfall of the Jaredites was due to their desire to have a king rule over them. King Akish’s deeds of cruelty, treachery, and iniquity created a kingdom so filled with corruption and secret societies that civil war broke out and ended only after the destruction of the nation.
An article for youth that draws attention to the fact that the downfall of the Jaredites was due to their desire to have a king rule over them. King Akish’s deeds of cruelty, treachery, and iniquity created a kingdom so filled with corruption and secret societies that civil war broke out and ended only after the destruction of the nation.
Presents a life sketch of the Alma family, many of whom became prophets. The life of Alma the Younger is compared to the Apostle Paul—both were called upon to repent and became great missionaries for the Lord. The prophecies of Alma are among the most numerous, important, and interesting in the Book of Mormon, and his inspired advice to his sons contains many doctrinal matters. Helaman the son of Helaman, grandson of Alma, carried on the work of righteousness in spite of the Gadianton robbers. His son Nephi was a great prophet who paved the way for the visit of Christ in America. Nephi’s brother Lehi and Lehi’s son Nephi were also great leaders.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Biographical sketch of Amulek who was a man “of liberal education, of great faith, of unswerving integrity, and untiring zeal for the cause of truth.” Also discusses Alma, Zeezrom, and the divine justice displayed in the destruction of Ammonihah.
Biographical sketch of Amulek who was a man “of liberal education, of great faith, of unswerving integrity, and untiring zeal for the cause of truth” Also discusses Alma, Zeezrom, and the divine justice displayed in the destruction of Ammonihah.
Describes different aspects of warfare as found in the Book of Mormon, with emphasis on the battle techniques of Moroni. Notes that detailed accounts of warfare do not appear in the Book of Mormon until the period of the judges.
Describes different aspects of warfare as found in the Book of Mormon, with emphasis on the battle techniques of Moroni. Notes that detailed accounts of warfare do not appear in the Book of Mormon until the period of the judges.
Describes different aspects of warfare as found in the Book of Mormon, with emphasis on the battle techniques of Moroni. Notes that detailed accounts of warfare do not appear in the Book of Mormon until the period of the judges.
Describes different aspects of warfare as found in the Book of Mormon, with emphasis on the battle techniques of Moroni. Notes that detailed accounts of warfare do not appear in the Book of Mormon until the period of the judges.
Describes different aspects of warfare as found in the Book of Mormon, with emphasis on the battle techniques of Moroni. Notes that detailed accounts of warfare do not appear in the Book of Mormon until the period of the judges.
Shows parallels and commonalities between the Book of Mormon and the Bible. For example, both books were written by different men over a span of several centuries and both contain hymns or psalms.
Shows parallels and commonalities between the Book of Mormon and the Bible. For example, both books were written by different men over a span of several centuries and both contain hymns or psalms.
Examines the authenticity of the Book of Mormon in light of the testimonies of the Eight Witnesses and the Three Witnesses, noting that although some left the Church, none ever denied that they had seen the gold plates.
Examines the authenticity of the Book of Mormon in light of the testimonies of the Eight Witnesses and the Three Witnesses, noting that although some left the Church, none ever denied that they had seen the gold plates.
Examines the authenticity of the Book of Mormon in light of the testimonies of the Eight Witnesses and the Three Witnesses, noting that although some left the Church, none ever denied that they had seen the gold plates.
It is difficult to identify the geography of the Book of Mormon, as there is little effort made by the writers to describe physical features. The speculation of Reynolds and Sjodahl follow in five parts, considering all of the geographical entries of the Book of Mormon. Each city is considered according to the description contained within the Book of Mormon.
A series of articles containing commentary on important Book of Mormon issues, such as the language of Nephi, Reformed Egyptian, the journey from Jerusalem to the promised land, Lehi’s landing on the coast of Chile, and the possible route of Nephi’s flight from his brothers. The geographies of Chile, Columbia, and other South American locations are examined in light of the Book of Mormon.
A series of articles containing commentary on important Book of Mormon issues, such as the language of Nephi, Reformed Egyptian, the journey from Jerusalem to the promised land, Lehi’s landing on the coast of Chile, and the possible route of Nephi’s flight from his brothers. The geographies of Chile, Columbia, and other South American locations are examined in light of the Book of Mormon.
A series of articles containing commentary on important Book of Mormon issues, such as the language of Nephi, Reformed Egyptian, the journey from Jerusalem to the promised land, Lehi’s landing on the coast of Chile, and the possible route of Nephi’s flight from his brothers. The geographies of Chile, Columbia, and other South American locations are examined in light of the Book of Mormon.
A series of articles containing commentary on important Book of Mormon issues, such as the language of Nephi, Reformed Egyptian, the journey from Jerusalem to the promised land, Lehi’s landing on the coast of Chile, and the possible route of Nephi’s flight from his brothers. The geographies of Chile, Columbia, and other South American locations are examined in light of the Book of Mormon.
A series of articles containing commentary on important Book of Mormon issues, such as the language of Nephi, Reformed Egyptian, the journey from Jerusalem to the promised land, Lehi’s landing on the coast of Chile, and the possible route of Nephi’s flight from his brothers. The geographies of Chile, Columbia, and other South American locations are examined in light of the Book of Mormon.
A series of articles containing commentary on important Book of Mormon issues, such as the language of Nephi, Reformed Egyptian, the journey from Jerusalem to the promised land, Lehi’s landing on the coast of Chile, and the possible route of Nephi’s flight from his brothers. The geographies of Chile, Columbia, and other South American locations are examined in light of the Book of Mormon.
A series of articles containing commentary on important Book of Mormon issues, such as the language of Nephi, Reformed Egyptian, the journey from Jerusalem to the promised land, Lehi’s landing on the coast of Chile, and the possible route of Nephi’s flight from his brothers. The geographies of Chile, Columbia, and other South American locations are examined in light of the Book of Mormon.
A series of articles containing commentary on important Book of Mormon issues, such as the language of Nephi, Reformed Egyptian, the journey from Jerusalem to the promised land, Lehi’s landing on the coast of Chile, and the possible route of Nephi’s flight from his brothers. The geographies of Chile, Columbia, and other South American locations are examined in light of the Book of Mormon.
A series of articles containing commentary on important Book of Mormon issues, such as the language of Nephi, Reformed Egyptian, the journey from Jerusalem to the promised land, Lehi’s landing on the coast of Chile, and the possible route of Nephi’s flight from his brothers. The geographies of Chile, Columbia, and other South American locations are examined in light of the Book of Mormon.
A series of articles containing commentary on important Book of Mormon issues, such as the language of Nephi, Reformed Egyptian, the journey from Jerusalem to the promised land, Lehi’s landing on the coast of Chile, and the possible route of Nephi’s flight from his brothers. The geographies of Chile, Columbia, and other South American locations are examined in light of the Book of Mormon.
Ancient Jerusalem—Lehi—His Vision—His Call to Preach to the Jews—They Persecute Him—He is Commanded of God to take his Family into the Wilderness—Their Departure—The Return of his Sons to Jerusalem to obtain the Records. They are ill-treated by Laban—His Death—Zoram Accompanies the Brothers into the Wilderness
The Rejoicing Over the Records—Nephi and his Brothers again Return to Jerusalem—They Conduct Ishmael and his Family into the Wilderness—Lehi’s Dream— The Tree of Life—The Rod of Iron—The Boturini Manuscript—Nephi’s Vision
Marriages in the Company—The Liahona—The Journey Continued—Nephi Breaks his Bow—Death of Ishmael—They Reach the Ocean—Nephi Builds a Ship—They Cross the Great Waters and Reach the Promised Land
The Promised Land—Chili—Its Natural Productions—The Death of Lehi—His Blessing on his posterity—Prophecies of his Ancestor Joseph
Causes that Led to the Migration from the Land of Nephi—The People of Zarahemla—Mulek and his Colony—The Fusion of the Two Nations—Mosiah made King— His Happy Reign
Jesus Returns and Renews His Teachings—He Administers the Sacrament—He Explains the Teachings of the Prophets—The Words of Malachi
The Savior Continues His Ministrations—He Raises a Man from the Dead—The Labors of the Twelve—The Name of the Church—The Three who should Remain
The Long Continued Era of Peace and Righteousness—Death of Nephi—His Son Amos—Amos the Second
The Commencement of the Apostasy—It Grows in Intensity—The Persecution of the Disciples—Lamanites Again—Re-appearance of the Gadianton Bands—War— Ammaron Hides the Records
The Last Long Series of Wars—Mormon—The Final Conflict at Cumorah—The Last of the Nephites
Science and Literature Among the Nephites—Their Astronomy and Geography —The Learning of Egypt
The Historians of the Nephites—The Plates of Nephi—List of their Custodians— Their Lengthened Years
The Women of the Book of Mormon—Their Condition and Position—Abish— Isabel—Marriage—Amulek—Moroni’s Title of Liberty—The Mothers of the Ammonites— Two Extremes
Domestic Life Among the Nephites—Household Duties—Dress—Ornaments— Homes—Food—Manufactures—Transportation
Agriculture Among the Nephites—Grains—Stock Raising—Irrigation
The Art of War Among the Nephites—Their Weapons, Armor and Fortifications —Moroni’s Line of Defense
The Laws of the Nephites—The Roman and Nephite Civilizations—The Laws under the Kings—Position of the Priesthood—Slavery—Criminal Offenses
The Laws under the Judges—The Voice of the People—Elections—Rights of the People—Church and State—The Criminal Procedure
Laws of the Nephites, Continued—The Division into Tribes—The Messianic Dispensation—The Final Convulsion
The Money of the Nephites—Their Coins—Barley the Standard of Value
Nephi in the Hands of the Lamanites—The Lands of Shemlon, Shilom, Helam, Amulon, Ishmael, Middoni, Jerusalem, etc.
Personal Appearance of the Nephites—Their Beauty—Testimony of Remains Found—The Dark-Skinned Lamanites
Language of the Nephites—The Influence of the Egyptians—Nephite Words— Rameumptom—Liahona—Rabbanah—The Lamanite Tongue—Word Building
Nephite Proper Names—Bible Names—Sariah—Nephi—Sam—Melek—Jershon —Isabel—Aha, etc.—Prefixes and Suffixes
The Lands of the Nephites—Mulek and Lehi—Zarahemla and Nephi—The Wilderness—The Land of First Inheritance—The Journeys Northward—The Waters of Mormon—Lehi—Nephi
The Lands of the Nephites, Continued—Zarahemla—Jershon—Antionum— Manti—Gideon
Lands of the Nephites, Continued—Minon—Melek—Ammonihah—Noah— Sidom—Aaron—Lehi—Mulek—Bountiful—The South-west Border
The Lands of Antum, Teancum, Joshua, David, etc.—Cumorah—The Hills of the Nephites—The River Sidon
Religion of the Nephites—It is Stated by Nephi—The Priesthood and Ordinances Thereof—Baptism—Confirmation—Ordination—The Sacrament—Spiritual Gifts
Miracles Among the Nephites—The Miracles of Christ—John and the Three Nephites—Translations
Moriancumer—Building the Barges—The Finger of the Lord—The Appearing of the Savior—The Voyage
The Prophecies Regarding the Savior—Their Completeness and Detail—Names and Titles Given to Christ
Nephite Apostates—The Order of Nehor—Amalekites—Amalickiahites— Amulonites—Abinadi’s Prophecy—The Gadiantons
Church Discipline Among the Nephites—Treatment of the Unrepentant—The Word of the Lord Regarding Transgressors—The Testimony of Moroni
The Discovery of the Jaredite Records—Coriantumr—Ether—The Dispersion at Babel—The Journey of the Jaredites—Atlantis
The Land of Promise—A Monarchy Established—The Kings of the Jaredites from Orihah to Omer—Akish—The Daughter of Jared
The Kings of the Jaredites from Omer to Coriantumr—The Material Prosperity of this Race
The Judgments of God on the Jaredites—The Extinction of the Race—The Hill Ramah—Shiz and Coriantumr—Ether
The Nephites and Lamanites Separate—The Nephites seek a New Home— Nephi Chosen King—He Builds a Temple—Instructs his People in the Arts of Peace—War with the Lamanites—The Sword of Laban—Nephi’s Death—Jacob, his Brother, Becomes the Chief Priest—Jacob’s Teachings on Marriage
The Condition of the Lamanites—Sherem, the First Anti-Christ—His Recantation and Dreadful End
Enos, the Son of Jacob—The Nephites and Lamanites of his Day—His Testimony and Prophecies
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Enos
Jarom—Omni—Amaron—Chemish—Abinadom—Amaleki—Mosiah—Review of Nephite History for Four Hundred Years
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Jarom
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Omni
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mosiah
The Reign of King Benjamin—The Progress of his People—His Last Great Speech—He Establishes the Church of Christ—All the People Covenant with God—Mosiah II. Anointed King
Zeniff Returns to the Land of Nephi—His Treaty with the Lamanites—The Prosperity of the People of Zeniff—The Treaty Broken—War—Peace and Wars Again— The Death of Zeniff—Noah’s Wicked Reign—His Wars with the Lamanites—The Prophet Abinadi—His Terrible Message of God’s Wrath—He is Martyred—Alma—He Pleads for Abinadi—Is Cast Out—Flees to the Place of Mormon
The Waters of Mormon—Alma, Helam and Others Baptised Therein—The Church Organized—The King Warned—He Sends Troops—Alma and his People Flee to the Land of Helam—They Build a City
King Noah’s Subjects Rebel—Gideon—The Lamanites Invade Lehi-Nephi—The Nephites Retreat—A Part Surrender—The New Terms of Peace—Noah is Burned to Death —Limhi made King—Noah’s Priests Escape—They seize some Lamanite Maidens— Another War—The Nephites Victorious—The King of the Lamanites wounded—Mutual Explanations
The Bondage of the People of Limhi—An Expedition North—Finding of the Jaredite Records—The Arrival of Ammon—The People of Limhi Escape—The Pursuit— The Amulonites—The People of Alma—They are Brought into Bondage—Their Deliverance
The Mission of the Sons of Mosiah to the Lamanites—Their Journey in the Wilderness—Ammon Brought before King Lamoni—The Conflict at the Waters of Sebus— The Miraculous Conversion of Lamoni and his Family—Abish the Waiting Woman
Nephi Translated—His Son Nephi—Time of the Savior’s Coming—The Conspiracy to Slay the Believers—The Revelation to Nephi—The Promised Signs Appear— Increase of the Gadianton Robbers—War—Lachoneus Gathers all the People to One Land —The End of the Struggle
The Last Chief Judge Murdered and the Republic Overthrown—The Signs of the Savior’s Death Appear—A Terrible Storm—The Universal Darkness—The Unparalleled Destruction—The Terror of those Hours
The Voice from Heaven—The Savior Testifies of Himself—Silence Throughout the Land—How oft would Christ have Gathered His People—The Darkness Departs
Christ Appears in the Land Bountiful—The Testimony of the Father—Jesus Calls Twelve Disciples—His Teachings to Them and to the Multitude
The Beatitudes - Divers Instructions and Cautions-On Forgiveness, Chastity, Charity, Etc.
The Sacrament Administered—The Savior’s Teachings Regarding it—He Confers on His Disciples the Power to Give the Holy Ghost—He Ascends into Heaven
On Alms-Giving—“After This Manner Pray Ye”—On Fasting, Integrity, Trust in God, Etc.
Judge Not—The Beam and the Mote—“Beware of False Prophets”—Good and Evil Fruit—The House Built on the Rock
The Fulfillment of the Mosaic Law—“Other Sheep Have I”—The Ten Tribes— The Events of the Latter Days
The Savior Heals the Sick—He Blesses the Children of the Nephites—Angels Minister unto them
Mosiah’s Good Reign—The Circumstances of his Advent—He Assembles the People—The Baptism of Limhi—Churches Organized Throughout the Land
The Unbelief of the Youth of Zarahemla—The Younger Alma and the Sons of Mosiah—They Encourage the Persecutions Against the Church—They are Met by an Angel —His Message—Alma’s Awful Condition—His Vision and Testimony—The Changed Life of the Young Men
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
The Growth of the People in Zarahemla—They Build Many Cities—Mosiah’s Sons Desire to Take a Mission to the Lamanites—Mosiah Inquires of the Lord—The Divine Answer
Mosiah’s Sons Refuse the Kingdom—He Grants the People a Constitution—The People to Elect their Rulers—Alma, the Younger, First Chief Judge
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Ammon and Lamoni Start for the Land of Middoni—They Meet the Old King— His Rage at Seeing Ammon—He Endeavors to Kill his Son—Aaron and his Brethren Liberated—A Sketch of their Labors and Sufferings—The Conversion of Lamoni’s Father and his Household
The King Issues a Proclamation—The Results of the Labors of the Sons of Mosiah—The People of Anti-Nephi-Lehi—They Bury their Weapons of War—Are Massacred by the Thousand—They Remove to the Territory of the Nephites, who give them the Land of Jershon
Review of the Mission of the Sons of Mosiah—Its Importance and Great Length —Its Results to Both Races—The Dates of its Leading Occurrences
The Days of the Judges—Their Names and Reigns—The Heresy of Nehor—He Slays Gideon and is Executed—Amlici’s Rebellion—The Battle of Amnihu—The Conflict at the Crossing of the Sidon—A Third Battle
Alma Resigns the Chief Judgeship—Nephihah Chosen—Alma Ministers in Zarahemla, Gideon, Melek and Ammonihah—Condition of the Last Named City—It Rejects the Message Alma Bears—An Angel Meets Him—Amulek—The Lawyer Zeezrom—The Great Controversy—Zeezrom Converted and Cast Out—The Martyrdom of the Believers— Alma and Amulek in Prison—Their Deliverance
Alma’s Charge to His Sons—He Transfers the Records to Helaman—He Leaves This World—Zeezrom’s Latter Days—Helaman’s Ministrations
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Zeezrom Sick with Fever—His Miraculous Recovery—The Destruction of Ammonihah—The Invasion of the Land of Noah—Zoram, the Nephite Commander, Seeks the Mind of the Lord—It is Given—Its Results—The War Ended—Alma’s Ministrations
Korihor, the Anti-Christ—His False Teachings and Blasphemy—He is Taken before Alma—Is Struck Dumb—His Miserable End—The Heresy Rooted Out
Zoram and the Zoramites—Their Peculiar Heresy—The Land of Antionum— The Rameumptom—Alma’s Mission to these People—Those Who Receive His Teachings Persecuted—They Flee to Jershon
Another War—Moroni the Leader of the Nephites—The Tactics of the Lamanites—Zerahemnah—The Battle at Riplah—Defeat of the Lamanites
Amalickiah—His Apostasy and Treason—Moroni’s Title of Liberty—The Nephites Respond to His Call—Lehonti—He is Poisoned by Amalickiah—The King of the Lamanites Treacherously Slain—Amalickiah Marries the Queen and is Proclaimed King—A Disastrous Lamanite Raid
A Few Years of Peace—Teancum—The Contention Between Lehi and Morianton—Amalickiah’s Terrible Invasion—His Success—He is Stopped at Bountiful by Teancum—Teancum Slays Amalickiah—Ammoron Made King of the Lamanites
Jacob the Zoramite—His Characteristics—The Strategy by Which Mulek Was Taken—The Fierce Battle between Jacob and the Nephite Forces—Jacob’s Death
The War in the South-west—Antipus—Helaman and His Two Thousand Sons— Their Valor and Faith—The Repulse of the Lamanites
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
The Relief of Manti—The Overthrow of the Kingmen—Pachus Slain—The Struggle at Moroni—Teancum Slays Ammoron, but at the Cost of His Own Life— Teancum’s Noble Character
Samuel, the Lamanite—His Mission and Prophecies—The Vain Attempt to Destroy Him—He Returns to His Own Country
Peace Once More—The Results of the War—The Labors of Helaman—Shiblon Receives the Records—Hagoth, the Ship-builder—Another War—Moronihah—Pahoran’s Death—Contention Regarding the Chief Judgeship—Paanchi’s Rebellion—The Gadianton Bands—Assassination of Pahoran II.—Another Lamanite Invasion
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Pacumeni Slain—Helaman Chosen Chief Judge—The Conspiracy to Slay Him— Kishkumen Killed—The Prosperity of the Nephites under Helaman
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
The Sons of Helaman—Nephi’s Righteous Rule—The Lamanites Again Invade Zarahemla—They Drive the Nephites into the Northern Continent—The Ministrations of Nephi and Lehi—The Manifestations of God’s Power in the City of Nephi—Aminadab—The Conversion of the Lamanites—Universal Peace
Growth of Evil amongst the Nephites—The Increase of the Gadianton Robbers —Nephi’s Announcement of the Murder of the Chief Judge—The Discovery—Nephi Arrested—He is Proven Innocent—God’s Covenant with Him—Increase of Iniquity—A Terrible Famine—The Welcome Rain—The Trend to Death
A full color chart with a historical time line dealing with the Nephites and Lamanites.
This multivolume work contains verse-by-verse commentary on the Book of Mormon. The text of the Book of Mormon is included. Also includes discussions of the history and missions of major personalities of the book, treatment of word meanings and usages including comparisons with biblical terms, comments and testimonies of Church leaders, discussion of doctrine, and each volume outlines the chronology of the scriptures included in its scope.
A concordance or alphabetical listing of all the words of the Book of Mormon (except twenty of the most common words, such as a, the, and) accompanied with scriptural references and a brief excerpt of the scriptural passage showing the context of each word of the concordance.
This excellent concordance to the Book of Mormon was begun by Elder George Reynolds whilst he was imprisoned for practicing polygamy. He would labor on it for twenty years before it was completed. While it is little-used itself today, Reynolds’s concordance served as a foundation for the later Topical Guide and index to the Book of Mormon.
“The increasing interest taken in the study of the Book of Mormon and in the history of the people whose origin, progress, and destruction it narrates, encourages the author of this little work to think that this addition to the literature of the subject will not be like one born out of due time but will be received as an acceptable aid to the study of its sacred pages. To the members of the Theological Classes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whether of the quorums of the Priesthood, of the Sunday Schools, Church Schools, or Improvement Associations, we particularly submit this book-- the first of its kind-- believing it will afford them material help in their investigations of Book of Mormon subjects, and their study of Nephite and Jaredite history; and we trust it wil not be without value to every one who takes an interest in the races who rose, flourished and vanished in Ancient America. This Dictionary contains the name of every person and place mentioned in the Book of Mormon, with a few other subjects of interest referred to therein.” [Author]
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
A Dictionary of the Book of Mormon is an outgrowth of the author’s immense Concordance to the Book of Mormon. Printed in several different editions, this dictionary contains entries for every person and place that was named within the Book of Mormon.
This dictionary contains all of the places and people of the Book of Mormon. Each entry comprises a thorough treatment of the subject in clear and understandable vocabulary; scriptural references are included.
A description of certain aspects of Nephite living. Includes comments on textiles, ornamentation, architecture, gardens, interior decorations, foods, and transportation.
A description of certain aspects of Nephite living. Includes comments on textiles, ornamentation, architecture, gardens, interior decorations, foods, and transportation.
A five-part series that includes a brief overview of the Book of Mormon, an account of Spanish conquerors who destroyed evidence of Hebrew influence reasoning that “Satan had counterfeited in this people the history, manners, customs, traditions, and expectations of the Hebrews,” a description of artifacts containing Hebrew characters, and evidence that the religious traditions of the Indians corroborate Book of Mormon statements.
2 Nephi 10 prophesies that a king will never be raised up unto the gentiles upon the land. Reynolds tells of the tragic fates of Louis Napoleon and Maximilian who tried to establish an empire in Mexico (1861) after the Book of Mormon had come forth and warns all people against attempting such a thing.
2 Nephi 10 prophesies that a king will never be raised up unto the gentiles upon the land. Reynolds tells of the tragic fates of Louis Napoleon and Maximilian who tried to establish an empire in Mexico (1861) after the Book of Mormon had come forth and warns all people against attempting such a thing.
There were four families who were charged with the care of the plates that contained the records of the Nephites. Jacob’s family, King Benjamin’s family, Alma and his family, and Mormon and his son Moroni. The author provides a dated list of the historians.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mormon
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
There were four families who were charged with the care of the plates that contained the records of the Nephites. Jacob’s family, King Benjamin’s family, Alma and his family, and Mormon and his son Moroni. The author provides a dated list of the historians.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Twelve-part series. Discussions include: the discovery, translation, and contents of the gold plates; Oliver Cowdery’s description of Hill Cumorah; the Three Witnesses; loss of the 116 pages of the Book of Mormon and the substitution of the small plates of Nephi; the 1830 edition; the history of the Book of Mormon, including the abridgment work of Mormon; a synopsis of Nephite history, which is divided into 3 epochs; the history of the Jaredites.
Cites historical consistency, absence of anachronisms, purity of doctrines, harmony with Bible and Indian traditions, prophecies of the Book of Mormon that have been fulfilled, and scientific truths that accord with the Book of Mormon. Refutes criticisms and polemical arguments.
Cites historical consistency, absence of anachronisms, purity of doctrines, harmony with Bible and Indian traditions, prophecies of the Book of Mormon that have been fulfilled, and scientific truths that accord with the Book of Mormon. Refutes criticisms and polemical arguments.
Refutes the Spaulding manuscript as a basis for the creation of the Book of Mormon, pointing out wide differences between the two, including background, dates, characters, and content. Argues that if Joseph Smith were “too illiterate” to write the Book of Mormon, he was equally as incapable of changing the Spaulding manuscript into the Book of Mormon.
Refutes the Spaulding manuscript as a basis for the creation of the Book of Mormon, pointing out wide differences between the two, including background, dates, characters, and content. Argues that if Joseph Smith were “too illiterate” to write the Book of Mormon, he was equally as incapable of changing the Spaulding manuscript into the Book of Mormon.
Refutes the Spaulding manuscript as a basis for the creation of the Book of Mormon, pointing out wide differences between the two, including background, dates, characters, and content. Argues that if Joseph Smith were “too illiterate” to write the Book of Mormon, he was equally as incapable of changing the Spaulding manuscript into the Book of Mormon.
Sketches out the character of the Lamanites. Also writes concerning Sariah, Lehi’s wife.
A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”
A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.
A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.
A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.
A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.
A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.
A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.
A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.
A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.
A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.
A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.
A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.
A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.
Compares two views concerning the language of the Nephites: (1) people wrote and spoke Egyptian; or (2) they wrote Hebrew words in Egyptian characters. Sees Hebrew roots in the following Book of Mormon words: Ziff, Rameumpton, Sheum, Gazelem, and Rabbanah.
Compares two views concerning the language of the Nephites: (1) people wrote and spoke Egyptian; or (2) they wrote Hebrew words in Egyptian characters. Sees Hebrew roots in the following Book of Mormon words: Ziff, Rameumpton, Sheum, Gazelem, and Rabbanah.
A listing of numerous scrolls, inscriptions, and tablets purportedly found on the American continent with Hebrew or Egyptian characters upon them, and a comparison between American Indian languages and Hebrew with similarities noted. All these are proposed as evidence of the Hebrew ancestry of American Indians and the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon record.
Discusses the Nephite political system under the monarchy and judges. Also considers legal matters under the judges, such as procedures for being heard as the “voice of the people,” various sanctions for crime, and treatment of prisoners of war.
Discusses the Nephite political system under the monarchy and judges. Also considers legal matters under the judges, such as procedures for being heard as the “voice of the people,” various sanctions for crime, and treatment of prisoners of war.
Discusses the Nephite political system under the monarchy and judges. Also considers legal matters under the judges, such as procedures for being heard as the “voice of the people,” various sanctions for crime, and treatment of prisoners of war.
Discusses the Nephite political system under the monarchy and judges. Also considers legal matters under the judges, such as procedures for being heard as the “voice of the people,” various sanctions for crime, and treatment of prisoners of war.
Discusses the Nephite political system under the monarchy and judges. Also considers legal matters under the judges, such as procedures for being heard as the “voice of the people,” various sanctions for crime, and treatment of prisoners of war.
Discusses the Nephite political system under the monarchy and judges. Also considers legal matters under the judges, such as procedures for being heard as the “voice of the people,” various sanctions for crime, and treatment of prisoners of war.
Discusses the Nephite political system under the monarchy and judges. Also considers legal matters under the judges, such as procedures for being heard as the “voice of the people,” various sanctions for crime, and treatment of prisoners of war.
Discusses the Nephite political system under the monarchy and judges. Also considers legal matters under the judges, such as procedures for being heard as the “voice of the people,” various sanctions for crime, and treatment of prisoners of war.
Discusses the Nephite political system under the monarchy and judges. Also considers legal matters under the judges, such as procedures for being heard as the “voice of the people,” various sanctions for crime, and treatment of prisoners of war.
Discusses the Nephite political system under the monarchy and judges. Also considers legal matters under the judges, such as procedures for being heard as the “voice of the people,” various sanctions for crime, and treatment of prisoners of war.
Discusses the Nephite political system under the monarchy and judges. Also considers legal matters under the judges, such as procedures for being heard as the “voice of the people,” various sanctions for crime, and treatment of prisoners of war.
Enos rose to prominent leadership through his humility, faith, and concern for others. This is evidenced by his prayer while hunting in the forest.
A description of the life and activities of two lesser-known characters of the Book of Mormon, Antipus and Muloki. Antipus was a Nephite military leader until about 62 B.C. and Muloki was a fellow missionary of the four sons of Mosiah.
Reynolds describes the Nephite people of Jarom’s time. Zoram was the commander of the Nephite armies around 81 B.C. He led the Nephites to free Nephite prisoners.
A synopsis of Samuel the Lamanite including his prophecies and the condition of unrighteousness among the Nephites.
A description of the military leadership and exploits of Teancum. Teancum killed Morianton, Amalickiah, and Ammoron with his own hands.
A narrative of Nephi’s life and lessons that may be learned from the life of Nephi. At times it is better to suffer wrongs than to demand one’s rights, and the purposes of God will not be thwarted.
A narrative of Nephi’s life and lessons that may be learned from the life of Nephi. At times it is better to suffer wrongs than to demand one’s rights, and the purposes of God will not be thwarted.
A narrative of Nephi’s life and lessons that may be learned from the life of Nephi. At times it is better to suffer wrongs than to demand one’s rights, and the purposes of God will not be thwarted.
A narrative of Nephi’s life and lessons that may be learned from the life of Nephi. At times it is better to suffer wrongs than to demand one’s rights, and the purposes of God will not be thwarted.
A narrative of Nephi’s life and lessons that may be learned from the life of Nephi. At times it is better to suffer wrongs than to demand one’s rights, and the purposes of God will not be thwarted.
A narrative of Nephi’s life and lessons that may be learned from the life of Nephi. At times it is better to suffer wrongs than to demand one’s rights, and the purposes of God will not be thwarted.
A narrative of Nephi’s life and lessons that may be learned from the life of Nephi. At times it is better to suffer wrongs than to demand one’s rights, and the purposes of God will not be thwarted.
A narrative of Nephi’s life and lessons that may be learned from the life of Nephi. At times it is better to suffer wrongs than to demand one’s rights, and the purposes of God will not be thwarted.
A narrative of Nephi’s life and lessons that may be learned from the life of Nephi. At times it is better to suffer wrongs than to demand one’s rights, and the purposes of God will not be thwarted.
A narrative of Nephi’s life and lessons that may be learned from the life of Nephi. At times it is better to suffer wrongs than to demand one’s rights, and the purposes of God will not be thwarted.
A narrative of Nephi’s life and lessons that may be learned from the life of Nephi. At times it is better to suffer wrongs than to demand one’s rights, and the purposes of God will not be thwarted.
A narrative of Nephi’s life and lessons that may be learned from the life of Nephi. At times it is better to suffer wrongs than to demand one’s rights, and the purposes of God will not be thwarted.
A narrative of Nephi’s life and lessons that may be learned from the life of Nephi. At times it is better to suffer wrongs than to demand one’s rights, and the purposes of God will not be thwarted.
Lays out the monetary measurement of the Nephites as codified by Mosiah. The coins are named after people or places. Barley seems to have been the standard of measurement, just as was the case from the races from which the English people sprang.
Lays out the monetary measurement of the Nephites as codified by Mosiah. The coins are named after people or places. Barley seems to have been the standard of measurement, just as was the case from the races from which the English people sprang.
Lays out the monetary measurement of the Nephites as codified by Mosiah. The coins are named after people or places. Barley seems to have been the standard of measurement, just as was the case from the races from which the English people sprang.
Sees mounds near St. Louis, Missouri, as evidence for the Book of Mormon and speculates that the mounds are the remains of the cement houses spoken of in Helaman 3.
Sees mounds near St. Louis, Missouri, as evidence for the Book of Mormon and speculates that the mounds are the remains of the cement houses spoken of in Helaman 3.
Sets forth the absurdities that are connected with the Spaulding manuscript. “The upholders of [the myth of the manuscript found] are not only at variance with each other, but that all their assertions are inconsistent with the well-known facts associated with its discovery”
Lists Book of Mormon proper names that may or may not be found in the Bible, including Sariah, Nephi, Melek (or Mulek), Gershon, and Isabel. Looks for Hebrew or Egyptian roots.
Lists Book of Mormon proper names that may or may not be found in the Bible, including Sariah, Nephi, Melek (or Mulek), Gershon, and Isabel. Looks for Hebrew or Egyptian roots.
Reynolds provides a chronological overview of the Nephite Chief Judges, as well as the historians who had custody of the plates. He then begins a summary of Nephite history during this time, beginning with the preaching of Nehor and ending with the rebellion of Amlici.
Reynolds provides a chronological overview of the Nephite Chief Judges, as well as the historians who had custody of the plates. He then begins a summary of Nephite history during this time, beginning with the preaching of Nehor and ending with the rebellion of Amlici.
Four-part series. For 120 years following the death of King Mosiah, the Nephites were under the rule of the Judges. Their rule was not always peaceful nor their government stable. There were internal as well as external enemies. Priestcrafts and corruption were introduced by Nehor, Amlici, Korihor, and others. The decline in Nephite morality led to the existence of the Gadianton robbers. Samuel the Lamanite preached repentance but few received his words.
Reynolds continues his summary of Nephite history under the reign of the Judges. He discusses the wickedness of the city of Ammonihah under the influence of Nehor’s philosophy, as well as the short-lived career of Korihor. The long war caused by Amalickiah and his brother Ammoron is discussed, as well as the remarkable Nephites who rose up to combat their wickedness. The quick downfall in public virtue among the Nephites, leading to the rise of bands of the Gadianton Robbers, concludes the article.
Reynolds continues his summary of Nephite history under the reign of the Judges. He discusses the wickedness of the city of Ammonihah under the influence of Nehor’s philosophy, as well as the short-lived career of Korihor. The long war caused by Amalickiah and his brother Ammoron is discussed, as well as the remarkable Nephites who rose up to combat their wickedness. The quick downfall in public virtue among the Nephites, leading to the rise of bands of the Gadianton Robbers, concludes the article.
Reynolds discusses the origins of the Nephite Gadianton band in the failed rebellion of Paanchi. Their crimes and violence over the years are discussed, as is the countering ministry of Nephi and Lehi, the sons of Helaman, in bringing thousands of Nephites and Lamanites to a knowledge of the gospel and an understanding of their duties. Wars between the Gadianton Robbers and the armies of the Nephites and Lamanites are mentioned, leading into the prophecies of the impending birth of the Savior, delivered by Samuel the Lamanite from upon the walls of the city of Zarahemla.
Reynolds discusses the origins of the Nephite Gadianton band in the failed rebellion of Paanchi. Their crimes and violence over the years are discussed, as is the countering ministry of Nephi and Lehi, the sons of Helaman, in bringing thousands of Nephites and Lamanites to a knowledge of the gospel and an understanding of their duties. Wars between the Gadianton Robbers and the armies of the Nephites and Lamanites are mentioned, leading into the prophecies of the impending birth of the Savior, delivered by Samuel the Lamanite from upon the walls of the city of Zarahemla.
Reynolds discusses how the Nephites and Lamanites were able to outlast and overcome the armies of the Gadianton Robbers. Although peace reigned for a time, the government eventually collapsed under the actions of traitors and apostates who sought power, and the people reverted to tribal orders for protection. Among these, one Jacob – who styled himself a king and founded the city of Jacobugath – receives prominent mention. With this collapse, as detailed by Reynolds, the reign of the judges ended.
Reynolds discusses how the Nephites and Lamanites were able to outlast and overcome the armies of the Gadianton Robbers. Although peace reigned for a time, the government eventually collapsed under the actions of traitors and apostates who sought power, and the people reverted to tribal orders for protection. Among these, one Jacob – who styled himself a king and founded the city of Jacobugath – receives prominent mention. With this collapse, as detailed by Reynolds, the reign of the judges ended.
Discusses arguments against the Book of Mormon—objections are based on falsehoods, dishonesty, and insincerity.
A history of the Spaulding manuscript that deals with the major characters of the story—Solomon Spaulding, P. Hurlburt, Mrs. Davidson, and E. D. Howe.
Describes the personal appearance of the Nephites as being “white and delightsome people,” perhaps “well proportioned, ruddy of countenance, auburn hair and light eyed.”
Describes the personal appearance of the Nephites as being “white and delightsome people,” perhaps “well proportioned, ruddy of countenance, auburn hair and light eyed”
Zeezrom was the leading lawyer in the city of Ammonihah who sought every opportunity to win a case, especially against the servants of God. However, he soon recognized his guilt and wished to repent.
The Nephite civilization began with highly intelligent and learned leaders who were well acquainted with geography and astronomy. They had access to unpolluted scriptures, including the otherwise unknown writings of Zenos, Zenock, Neum, and Ezias. They may have been familiar with the books of Abraham and Joseph.
The Nephite civilization began with highly intelligent and learned leaders who were well acquainted with geography and astronomy. They had access to unpolluted scriptures, including the otherwise unknown writings of Zenos, Zenock, Neum, and Ezias. They may have been familiar with the books of Abraham and Joseph.
This article discusses ridicule given to the Book of Mormon concerning the death of Shiz and Coriantumr’s race for the rulership of the Jaredite nation.
Reynolds quotes an article in the American Magazine of 1837 that describes the excavation of a skeleton in armor and having arrows with brass arrowheads. Reynolds discusses the possibility that this was a Jaredite, Nephite, or Lamanite and concludes that it was probably a Jaredite.
The Book of Mormon is the record of God’s dealings with the peoples of Ancient America, from the age of the building of the Tower of Babel to four hundred and twenty-one years after the birth of Christ. It is the stick of Ephraim, spoken of by Ezekiel: the Bible of the western continent. Not that it supersedes the Bible or in any way interferes with it, any more than the history of Peru interferes with or supersedes the history of Greece; but, on the other hand, in many places it confirms Bible history, demonstrates Bible truths, sustains Bible doctrines, and fulfills Bible prophecy. For many years we have taken great pleasure in perusing its sacred pages and studying its truths. The more we read it the more we found it contained. Like other inspired records, every time it was opened we discovered new and oft-times unexpected testimonies of its divinity. From reading it we turned to writing of it; and much that this volume contains has been penned at various intervals, from the days we were in prison for conscience sake, where portions were written, to the present. And now we present it to the reader with the feeling that the work is but commenced; that what remains unsaid is probably as important as what is given, but with the hope that what we have done will not prove ineffectual in spreading the truth, in increasing knowledge concerning God’s dealings with mankind, and aiding in the development of the purposes of Jehovah. If this be accomplished we shall feel that great has been our reward. This volume presents one unique feature, in that it is the first attempt made to illustrate the Book of Mormon; and we have pleasure in realizing that the leading illustrations are the work of home artists. To break fresh ground in such a direction is no light undertaking; the difficulties are numerous, none more so than the absence of information in the Book of Mormon of the dress and artificial surroundings of the peoples whose history it recounts. Each artist has given his own ideas of the scenes depicted, and as so much is left to the imagination, some readers will doubtless praise where others will blame; and the same effort will be the subject of the most conflicting criticism. Not the least interesting feature of the book will, we believe, be found in the reproductions of portions of certain ancient Aztec historical charts. These have been the subjects of controversy for centuries past; many efforts have been made at their translation; but all such attempts have been ineffectual, and in many cases ludicrous. It required the publication of the Book of Mormon to turn on them the light of divine truth, when their intent at once became apparent. Others, we trust, in time will be discovered which will be added testimonies to its genuineness and divine authenticity, as well as to the sacred mission of the instrument in God’s hands in bringing it forth—the youthful Prophet, Joseph Smith.
Articles
Ancient Jerusalem—Lehi—His Vision—His Call to Preach to the Jews—They Persecute Him—He is Commanded of God to take his Family into the Wilderness—Their Departure—The Return of his Sons to Jerusalem to obtain the Records. They are ill-treated by Laban—His Death—Zoram Accompanies the Brothers into the Wilderness
The Rejoicing Over the Records—Nephi and his Brothers again Return to Jerusalem—They Conduct Ishmael and his Family into the Wilderness—Lehi’s Dream— The Tree of Life—The Rod of Iron—The Boturini Manuscript—Nephi’s Vision
Marriages in the Company—The Liahona—The Journey Continued—Nephi Breaks his Bow—Death of Ishmael—They Reach the Ocean—Nephi Builds a Ship—They Cross the Great Waters and Reach the Promised Land
The Promised Land—Chili—Its Natural Productions—The Death of Lehi—His Blessing on his posterity—Prophecies of his Ancestor Joseph
The Nephites and Lamanites Separate—The Nephites seek a New Home— Nephi Chosen King—He Builds a Temple—Instructs his People in the Arts of Peace—War with the Lamanites—The Sword of Laban—Nephi’s Death—Jacob, his Brother, Becomes the Chief Priest—Jacob’s Teachings on Marriage
The Condition of the Lamanites—Sherem, the First Anti-Christ—His Recantation and Dreadful End
Enos, the Son of Jacob—The Nephites and Lamanites of his Day—His Testimony and Prophecies
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Enos
Jarom—Omni—Amaron—Chemish—Abinadom—Amaleki—Mosiah—Review of Nephite History for Four Hundred Years
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Jarom
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Omni
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mosiah
Causes that Led to the Migration from the Land of Nephi—The People of Zarahemla—Mulek and his Colony—The Fusion of the Two Nations—Mosiah made King— His Happy Reign
The Reign of King Benjamin—The Progress of his People—His Last Great Speech—He Establishes the Church of Christ—All the People Covenant with God—Mosiah II. Anointed King
Zeniff Returns to the Land of Nephi—His Treaty with the Lamanites—The Prosperity of the People of Zeniff—The Treaty Broken—War—Peace and Wars Again— The Death of Zeniff—Noah’s Wicked Reign—His Wars with the Lamanites—The Prophet Abinadi—His Terrible Message of God’s Wrath—He is Martyred—Alma—He Pleads for Abinadi—Is Cast Out—Flees to the Place of Mormon
The Waters of Mormon—Alma, Helam and Others Baptised Therein—The Church Organized—The King Warned—He Sends Troops—Alma and his People Flee to the Land of Helam—They Build a City
King Noah’s Subjects Rebel—Gideon—The Lamanites Invade Lehi-Nephi—The Nephites Retreat—A Part Surrender—The New Terms of Peace—Noah is Burned to Death —Limhi made King—Noah’s Priests Escape—They seize some Lamanite Maidens— Another War—The Nephites Victorious—The King of the Lamanites wounded—Mutual Explanations
The Bondage of the People of Limhi—An Expedition North—Finding of the Jaredite Records—The Arrival of Ammon—The People of Limhi Escape—The Pursuit— The Amulonites—The People of Alma—They are Brought into Bondage—Their Deliverance
Mosiah’s Good Reign—The Circumstances of his Advent—He Assembles the People—The Baptism of Limhi—Churches Organized Throughout the Land
The Unbelief of the Youth of Zarahemla—The Younger Alma and the Sons of Mosiah—They Encourage the Persecutions Against the Church—They are Met by an Angel —His Message—Alma’s Awful Condition—His Vision and Testimony—The Changed Life of the Young Men
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
The Growth of the People in Zarahemla—They Build Many Cities—Mosiah’s Sons Desire to Take a Mission to the Lamanites—Mosiah Inquires of the Lord—The Divine Answer
Mosiah’s Sons Refuse the Kingdom—He Grants the People a Constitution—The People to Elect their Rulers—Alma, the Younger, First Chief Judge
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
The Mission of the Sons of Mosiah to the Lamanites—Their Journey in the Wilderness—Ammon Brought before King Lamoni—The Conflict at the Waters of Sebus— The Miraculous Conversion of Lamoni and his Family—Abish the Waiting Woman
Ammon and Lamoni Start for the Land of Middoni—They Meet the Old King— His Rage at Seeing Ammon—He Endeavors to Kill his Son—Aaron and his Brethren Liberated—A Sketch of their Labors and Sufferings—The Conversion of Lamoni’s Father and his Household
The King Issues a Proclamation—The Results of the Labors of the Sons of Mosiah—The People of Anti-Nephi-Lehi—They Bury their Weapons of War—Are Massacred by the Thousand—They Remove to the Territory of the Nephites, who give them the Land of Jershon
Review of the Mission of the Sons of Mosiah—Its Importance and Great Length —Its Results to Both Races—The Dates of its Leading Occurrences
The Days of the Judges—Their Names and Reigns—The Heresy of Nehor—He Slays Gideon and is Executed—Amlici’s Rebellion—The Battle of Amnihu—The Conflict at the Crossing of the Sidon—A Third Battle
Alma Resigns the Chief Judgeship—Nephihah Chosen—Alma Ministers in Zarahemla, Gideon, Melek and Ammonihah—Condition of the Last Named City—It Rejects the Message Alma Bears—An Angel Meets Him—Amulek—The Lawyer Zeezrom—The Great Controversy—Zeezrom Converted and Cast Out—The Martyrdom of the Believers— Alma and Amulek in Prison—Their Deliverance
Zeezrom Sick with Fever—His Miraculous Recovery—The Destruction of Ammonihah—The Invasion of the Land of Noah—Zoram, the Nephite Commander, Seeks the Mind of the Lord—It is Given—Its Results—The War Ended—Alma’s Ministrations
Korihor, the Anti-Christ—His False Teachings and Blasphemy—He is Taken before Alma—Is Struck Dumb—His Miserable End—The Heresy Rooted Out
Zoram and the Zoramites—Their Peculiar Heresy—The Land of Antionum— The Rameumptom—Alma’s Mission to these People—Those Who Receive His Teachings Persecuted—They Flee to Jershon
Another War—Moroni the Leader of the Nephites—The Tactics of the Lamanites—Zerahemnah—The Battle at Riplah—Defeat of the Lamanites
Alma’s Charge to His Sons—He Transfers the Records to Helaman—He Leaves This World—Zeezrom’s Latter Days—Helaman’s Ministrations
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Amalickiah—His Apostasy and Treason—Moroni’s Title of Liberty—The Nephites Respond to His Call—Lehonti—He is Poisoned by Amalickiah—The King of the Lamanites Treacherously Slain—Amalickiah Marries the Queen and is Proclaimed King—A Disastrous Lamanite Raid
A Few Years of Peace—Teancum—The Contention Between Lehi and Morianton—Amalickiah’s Terrible Invasion—His Success—He is Stopped at Bountiful by Teancum—Teancum Slays Amalickiah—Ammoron Made King of the Lamanites
Jacob the Zoramite—His Characteristics—The Strategy by Which Mulek Was Taken—The Fierce Battle between Jacob and the Nephite Forces—Jacob’s Death
The War in the South-west—Antipus—Helaman and His Two Thousand Sons— Their Valor and Faith—The Repulse of the Lamanites
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
The Relief of Manti—The Overthrow of the Kingmen—Pachus Slain—The Struggle at Moroni—Teancum Slays Ammoron, but at the Cost of His Own Life— Teancum’s Noble Character
Peace Once More—The Results of the War—The Labors of Helaman—Shiblon Receives the Records—Hagoth, the Ship-builder—Another War—Moronihah—Pahoran’s Death—Contention Regarding the Chief Judgeship—Paanchi’s Rebellion—The Gadianton Bands—Assassination of Pahoran II.—Another Lamanite Invasion
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Pacumeni Slain—Helaman Chosen Chief Judge—The Conspiracy to Slay Him— Kishkumen Killed—The Prosperity of the Nephites under Helaman
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
The Sons of Helaman—Nephi’s Righteous Rule—The Lamanites Again Invade Zarahemla—They Drive the Nephites into the Northern Continent—The Ministrations of Nephi and Lehi—The Manifestations of God’s Power in the City of Nephi—Aminadab—The Conversion of the Lamanites—Universal Peace
Growth of Evil amongst the Nephites—The Increase of the Gadianton Robbers —Nephi’s Announcement of the Murder of the Chief Judge—The Discovery—Nephi Arrested—He is Proven Innocent—God’s Covenant with Him—Increase of Iniquity—A Terrible Famine—The Welcome Rain—The Trend to Death
Samuel, the Lamanite—His Mission and Prophecies—The Vain Attempt to Destroy Him—He Returns to His Own Country
Nephi Translated—His Son Nephi—Time of the Savior’s Coming—The Conspiracy to Slay the Believers—The Revelation to Nephi—The Promised Signs Appear— Increase of the Gadianton Robbers—War—Lachoneus Gathers all the People to One Land —The End of the Struggle
The Last Chief Judge Murdered and the Republic Overthrown—The Signs of the Savior’s Death Appear—A Terrible Storm—The Universal Darkness—The Unparalleled Destruction—The Terror of those Hours
The Voice from Heaven—The Savior Testifies of Himself—Silence Throughout the Land—How oft would Christ have Gathered His People—The Darkness Departs
Christ Appears in the Land Bountiful—The Testimony of the Father—Jesus Calls Twelve Disciples—His Teachings to Them and to the Multitude
The Beatitudes - Divers Instructions and Cautions-On Forgiveness, Chastity, Charity, Etc.
On Alms-Giving—“After This Manner Pray Ye”—On Fasting, Integrity, Trust in God, Etc.
Judge Not—The Beam and the Mote—“Beware of False Prophets”—Good and Evil Fruit—The House Built on the Rock
The Fulfillment of the Mosaic Law—“Other Sheep Have I”—The Ten Tribes— The Events of the Latter Days
The Savior Heals the Sick—He Blesses the Children of the Nephites—Angels Minister unto them
The Sacrament Administered—The Savior’s Teachings Regarding it—He Confers on His Disciples the Power to Give the Holy Ghost—He Ascends into Heaven
Jesus Returns and Renews His Teachings—He Administers the Sacrament—He Explains the Teachings of the Prophets—The Words of Malachi
The Savior Continues His Ministrations—He Raises a Man from the Dead—The Labors of the Twelve—The Name of the Church—The Three who should Remain
The Long Continued Era of Peace and Righteousness—Death of Nephi—His Son Amos—Amos the Second
The Commencement of the Apostasy—It Grows in Intensity—The Persecution of the Disciples—Lamanites Again—Re-appearance of the Gadianton Bands—War— Ammaron Hides the Records
The Last Long Series of Wars—Mormon—The Final Conflict at Cumorah—The Last of the Nephites
The Historians of the Nephites—The Plates of Nephi—List of their Custodians— Their Lengthened Years
The Women of the Book of Mormon—Their Condition and Position—Abish— Isabel—Marriage—Amulek—Moroni’s Title of Liberty—The Mothers of the Ammonites— Two Extremes
Domestic Life Among the Nephites—Household Duties—Dress—Ornaments— Homes—Food—Manufactures—Transportation
Agriculture Among the Nephites—Grains—Stock Raising—Irrigation
Science and Literature Among the Nephites—Their Astronomy and Geography —The Learning of Egypt
The Art of War Among the Nephites—Their Weapons, Armor and Fortifications —Moroni’s Line of Defense
The Laws of the Nephites—The Roman and Nephite Civilizations—The Laws under the Kings—Position of the Priesthood—Slavery—Criminal Offenses
The Laws under the Judges—The Voice of the People—Elections—Rights of the People—Church and State—The Criminal Procedure
The Money of the Nephites—Their Coins—Barley the Standard of Value
Personal Appearance of the Nephites—Their Beauty—Testimony of Remains Found—The Dark-Skinned Lamanites
Laws of the Nephites, Continued—The Division into Tribes—The Messianic Dispensation—The Final Convulsion
Language of the Nephites—The Influence of the Egyptians—Nephite Words— Rameumptom—Liahona—Rabbanah—The Lamanite Tongue—Word Building
Nephite Proper Names—Bible Names—Sariah—Nephi—Sam—Melek—Jershon —Isabel—Aha, etc.—Prefixes and Suffixes
The Lands of the Nephites—Mulek and Lehi—Zarahemla and Nephi—The Wilderness—The Land of First Inheritance—The Journeys Northward—The Waters of Mormon—Lehi—Nephi
Nephi in the Hands of the Lamanites—The Lands of Shemlon, Shilom, Helam, Amulon, Ishmael, Middoni, Jerusalem, etc.
The Lands of the Nephites, Continued—Zarahemla—Jershon—Antionum— Manti—Gideon
Lands of the Nephites, Continued—Minon—Melek—Ammonihah—Noah— Sidom—Aaron—Lehi—Mulek—Bountiful—The South-west Border
The Lands of Antum, Teancum, Joshua, David, etc.—Cumorah—The Hills of the Nephites—The River Sidon
Religion of the Nephites—It is Stated by Nephi—The Priesthood and Ordinances Thereof—Baptism—Confirmation—Ordination—The Sacrament—Spiritual Gifts
Miracles Among the Nephites—The Miracles of Christ—John and the Three Nephites—Translations
The Prophecies Regarding the Savior—Their Completeness and Detail—Names and Titles Given to Christ
Nephite Apostates—The Order of Nehor—Amalekites—Amalickiahites— Amulonites—Abinadi’s Prophecy—The Gadiantons
Church Discipline Among the Nephites—Treatment of the Unrepentant—The Word of the Lord Regarding Transgressors—The Testimony of Moroni
The Discovery of the Jaredite Records—Coriantumr—Ether—The Dispersion at Babel—The Journey of the Jaredites—Atlantis
Moriancumer—Building the Barges—The Finger of the Lord—The Appearing of the Savior—The Voyage
The Land of Promise—A Monarchy Established—The Kings of the Jaredites from Orihah to Omer—Akish—The Daughter of Jared
The Kings of the Jaredites from Omer to Coriantumr—The Material Prosperity of this Race
The Judgments of God on the Jaredites—The Extinction of the Race—The Hill Ramah—Shiz and Coriantumr—Ether
The Book of Mormon is the record of God’s dealings with the peoples of Ancient America, from the age of the building of the Tower of Babel to four hundred and twenty-one years after the birth of Christ. It is the stick of Ephraim, spoken of by Ezekiel: the Bible of the western continent. Not that it supersedes the Bible or in any way interferes with it, any more than the history of Peru interferes with or supersedes the history of Greece; but, on the other hand, in many places it confirms Bible history, demonstrates Bible truths, sustains Bible doctrines, and fulfills Bible prophecy. For many years we have taken great pleasure in perusing its sacred pages and studying its truths. The more we read it the more we found it contained. Like other inspired records, every time it was opened we discovered new and oft-times unexpected testimonies of its divinity. From reading it we turned to writing of it; and much that this volume contains has been penned at various intervals, from the days we were in prison for conscience sake, where portions were written, to the present. And now we present it to the reader with the feeling that the work is but commenced; that what remains unsaid is probably as important as what is given, but with the hope that what we have done will not prove ineffectual in spreading the truth, in increasing knowledge concerning God’s dealings with mankind, and aiding in the development of the purposes of Jehovah. If this be accomplished we shall feel that great has been our reward. This volume presents one unique feature, in that it is the first attempt made to illustrate the Book of Mormon; and we have pleasure in realizing that the leading illustrations are the work of home artists. To break fresh ground in such a direction is no light undertaking; the difficulties are numerous, none more so than the absence of information in the Book of Mormon of the dress and artificial surroundings of the peoples whose history it recounts. Each artist has given his own ideas of the scenes depicted, and as so much is left to the imagination, some readers will doubtless praise where others will blame; and the same effort will be the subject of the most conflicting criticism. Not the least interesting feature of the book will, we believe, be found in the reproductions of portions of certain ancient Aztec historical charts. These have been the subjects of controversy for centuries past; many efforts have been made at their translation; but all such attempts have been ineffectual, and in many cases ludicrous. It required the publication of the Book of Mormon to turn on them the light of divine truth, when their intent at once became apparent. Others, we trust, in time will be discovered which will be added testimonies to its genuineness and divine authenticity, as well as to the sacred mission of the instrument in God’s hands in bringing it forth—the youthful Prophet, Joseph Smith.
Retells the entire story of the Book of Mormon. Includes illustrations.
Reynolds writes of David Whitmer’s continued testimony of the Book of Mormon. The Spaulding theory is definitely false and the Book of Mormon is from God. The only witnesses to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon are the Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses.
The biblical prophets Joseph and Samuel and Book of Mormon prophet Nephi are noteworthy examples to the youth of the Church. Discusses Nephi’s love of Isaiah’s writings and compares the Book of Mormon version of Isaiah with the biblical.
The biblical prophets Joseph and Samuel and Book of Mormon prophet Nephi are noteworthy examples to the youth of the Church. Discusses Nephi’s love of Isaiah’s writings and compares the Book of Mormon version of Isaiah with the biblical.
xamines the sequence of events during the translation period of the Book of Mormon and concludes that the work must have happened as Joseph Smith claimed. The time it took to translate the book was relatively short because of divine aid and the use of Urim and Thummim.
Examines the sequence of events during the translation period of the Book of Mormon and concludes that the work must have happened as Joseph Smith claimed. The time it took to translate the book was relatively short because of divine aid and the use of Urim and Thummim.
Remarks by Elder George Reynolds, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, March 29, 1885. Reported By: John Irvine.
Retells the story of the Zoramites, explaining their heresies, their persecution of poor people, and the resulting war.
Retells the story of the Zoramites, explaining their heresies, their persecution of poor people, and the resulting war.
Retells the story of the Zoramites, explaining their heresies, their persecution of poor people, and the resulting war.
Reports that Book of Mormon distribution has increased in the last year. Warns that the Book of Mormon lacks the archaeological proof that supports the Bible and that it disagrees with doctrines of the Mormon church.
The Bible describes a bifurcated world in which God bids, commands, and teaches the people he has created to follow him in the way of righteousness, and in which the devil leads people into wickedness. This way of seeing things surfaces explicitly in various texts and is known among scholars as the Doctrine of the Two Ways. While the same teaching has been noticed in the Book of Mormon, there is as yet no study that examines the Book of Mormon presentations systematically to identify the ways in which they might follow any of the ancient versions of the Two Ways doctrine, or the ways in which these might feature original formulations. In this article, Noel Reynolds shows that the Book of Mormon writers did retain most elements of the earliest biblical teaching, but with enriched understandings and original formulations of the Doctrine of the Two Ways in their prophetic teachings. He documents twelve exemplary passages in the Book of Mormon that explicitly refer to two paths or ways and assesses the extent to which these follow or vary from each other or from Jewish and Christian models.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Noel Reynolds discusses scholarship in the Latter-day Saint community, particularly with respect to the question of the authorship of the Book of Mormon. In this overview of the book, Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited, Reynolds discusses the research of Richard L. Bushman, Richard L. Anderson, Royal Skousen, Hugh Nibley, and others.
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2015 annual Society of Biblical Literature meeting, November 23, 2015, in Atlanta, Georgia. 1. See Noel B. Reynolds, “The Gospel of Jesus Christ as Taught by the Nephite Prophets;’ BYU Studies 31/3 (1991): 31-50; and Noel B. Reynolds, “The Gospel according to Mormon;’ Scottish Journal of Theology 68/2 (2015): 218-34 doi:10.1017/ S003693061500006X. 2. Inclusio is a common technique used by biblical writers to mark off a text unit by repeating at the end of the unit a word or phrase or sentence used at the beginning. These three Book of Mormon passages are marked off with obvious inclusios featuring “the doctrine of Christ;’ “this is my doctrine;’ and “this is my gospel” respectively. While Nephi constructed the first, the second two are embedded in the material quoted from Jesus Christ. In “Chiastic Structuring of Large Texts: Second Nephi as a Case Study;’ publication pending, I demonstrate that 2 Nephi can be read as a series of thirteen inclusios arranged to provide a chiastic structure to the book that also communicates his principal thesis.
In this volume, nine Latter-day Saint scholars each address the question of Book of Mormon authorship from a different approach. The tests of authenticity they employ rely on analytical techniques borrowed from such diverse disciplines as history, literature, statistics, and ancient Near Eastern studies. For both layman and scholar, this book makes exciting reading. While ultimate acceptance of the Book of Mormon as the word of God is and will remain a spiritual matter, the reasoned analyses, comparisons, and examinations contained in these pages add to the swelling volume of evidence that supports Joseph Smith’s account of the authorship of that book. ISBN 0-8849-4469-7
Chapters
In this article Madsen introduces B. H. Roberts and presents a synopsis of his rigorous life-time study of the Book of Mormon. Roberts approached the Book of Mormon from many different perspectives, all adding to his conviction that it was authentic scripture. The article explores these perspectives and suggests that B. H. Roberts\'s five- decade probing of the book was “shrewd,” “ground-breaking,” and faith-promoting. Through Roberts the modern reader can come to understand the kind of challenge the Book of Mormon poses for an honest inquirer and how one can try to deal with that challenge.
RSC Topics > G — K > Gold Plates
RSC Topics > G — K > Joseph Smith
RSC Topics > L — P > Prayer
RSC Topics > T — Z > Testimony
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints view the Book of Mormon as scripture written by ancient prophets, while critics believe that it is a 19th-century fraud. The 15 essays in Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited present the latest research by LDS scholars on the question in an effort to demonstrate that the weight of scholarly evidence is on the side of authenticity. Part 1 contains essays dealing with accounts of how the book was produced in 1829 and 1830, with emphasis on the translation process and the witnesses who saw the plates. Part 2 takes a look at the logical structure of the authorship debate and reviews the history of alternative theories and criticisms of the Book of Mormon. Part 3 presents textual studies that demonstrate the plausibility of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book, and part 4 updates scholars’ attempts to understand the ancient cultural and geographic setting of the book in both the Old and New Worlds.
Articles
Articles
Review of Terryl L Given. By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture That Launched a New World Religion.
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.
Are there indirect evidences of distinctive contents of the brass plates? Can we learn anything about the plates and their contents through an examination of indirect textual evidence in the Book of Mormon?
Old Testament Scriptures > Genesis
Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
Book of Moses Topics > Chapters of the Book of Moses > Moses 4–6:12 — Grand Council in Heaven, Adam and Eve
Book of Moses Topics > Source Criticism and the Documentary Hypothesis
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible > Old Testament > Books > Genesis
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Ancient Near East
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses
Abstract: The Book of Mormon peoples repeatedly indicated that they were descendants of Joseph, the son of Jacob who was sold into Egypt by his brothers. The plates of brass that they took with them from Jerusalem c. 600 bce provided them with a version of many Old Testament books and others not included in our Hebrew Bible. Sometime after publishing his translation of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith undertook an inspired revision of the Bible. The opening chapters of his version of Genesis contain a lot of material not included in the Hebrew Bible. But intriguingly, distinctive phraseology in those chapters, as now published in Joseph Smith’s Book of Moses, also show up in the Book of Mormon text. This paper presents a systematic examination of those repeated phrases and finds strong evidence for the conclusion that the version of Genesis used by the Nephite prophets must have been closely similar to Joseph Smith’s Book of Moses.
[Editor’s Note: This paper appeared first in the 1990 festschrift published to honor Hugh W. Nibley.
It is reprinted here as a convenience for current scholars who are interested in intertextual issues regarding the Book of Mormon. It should be noted that Interpreter has published another paper that picks up this same insight and develops considerable additional evidence supporting the conclusions of the original paper.
This reprint uses footnotes instead of endnotes, and there are two more footnotes in this reprint than there are endnotes in the original paper.].
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Jacob
Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
Book of Moses Topics > Chapters of the Book of Moses > Moses 4–6:12 — Grand Council in Heaven, Adam and Eve
Book of Moses Topics > Source Criticism and the Documentary Hypothesis
Book of Mormon Topics > Ancient Texts > Brass Plates
Abstract: In this important paper, Noel Reynolds extends his 1980 argument for the chiastic structure of 1 Nephi to demonstrate that 2 Nephi can be seen as a matching structure with a similar nature. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that chiasmus is not a phenomenon that confines itself to the details of words and phrases at the level of scriptural verses but can extend to much larger units of meaning, allowing the rhetorical beauty and emphasis of their overall messages to shine more brilliantly when they are considered as purposefully crafted wholes.
[Editor’s Note: Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article is reprinted here as a service to the LDS community. Original pagination and page numbers have necessarily changed, otherwise the reprint has the same content as the original. See Noel B. Reynolds, “Chiastic Structuring of Large Texts: Second Nephi as a Case Study,” in “To Seek the Law of the Lord”: Essays in Honor of John W. Welch, ed. Paul Y. Hoskisson and Daniel C. Peterson (Orem, UT: The Interpreter Foundation, 2017), 333–50. Further information at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/to-seek-the-law-of-the-lord-essays-in-honor-of-john-w-welch-2/.].
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 2 Nephi
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Book of Mormon Topics > Literary and Textual Studies > Chiasmus
Abstract: The Book of Mormon repeatedly outlines a six-part definition of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but most writers within the book refer to only two or three of them at a time in a biblical rhetorical device called merismus. Throughout the scriptures, the term “come unto Christ” in its many forms is used as part of these merisms to represent enduring to the end. This article examines the many abbreviations of the gospel, connects the phrase “come unto Christ” with enduring to the end, and discusses some of the alternate uses of these types of phrases.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 3 Nephi
In his landmark conference addresses in 1986, President Benson repeatedly cited the Doctrine and Covenants and reiterated his long-standing belief that the Church was under condemnation for taking the Book of Mormon too lightly. He also announced that “the Lord has revealed the need to reemphasize the Book of Mormon.” Latter-day Saints responded with an enormous and passionate effort to fully utilize the Nephite record. Such fervor did not always exist.
This book takes a fresh look at the apostasy of the early Christian church. Most Latter-day Saint scholars and leaders previously based their understanding of the Christian apostasy on the findings of Protestant scholars who provided a seemingly endless array of evidences of apostasy in Christian history. Since the classic treatments of this topic were written, many newly discovered manuscripts written during the first Christian centuries have come to light, giving a clearer picture of what the early Christian experience was like. Drawing on this material, LDS scholars today are able to shift the focus of study to the causes of the apostasy rather than the effects. This volume of essays reports new research by several LDS scholars in different fields. They identify common myths and misconceptions about the apostasy and promote better understanding of when and why the apostasy occurred.
Abstract: The phrase goodness of God does occur occasionally in the Hebrew Bible but has not been considered by Old Testament scholars to be an independent principle in Israelite theology. Rather, it has been interpreted as just another way of talking about God’s acts of hesed, or loving kindness for his covenant people and is usually interpreted in the context of the covenants Israel received through Abraham and Moses. The Book of Mormon clearly echoes that Old Testament pattern but also presents two additional conceptual frameworks that are explained in terms of the goodness of God. It advances an explicit divine plan of redemption or salvation that existed before Abraham — even before the creation of the earth — which had as its purpose making eternal life possible for God’s human children universally — not just the descendants of Abraham. And it also teaches the gospel or doctrine of Christ that provides the path individuals must walk to take full advantage of that plan — as they become good like God and qualify to enter his presence and receive eternal life. Nephite usage radically expands the Old Testament concept by portraying this mortal probation as each person’s God-given opportunity to become good like God. The goodness of God is frequently invoked by the Nephite prophets as a basic theological concept which can explain why God advanced his plan of salvation for men before the world was and why he is completely reliable in blessing and protecting those who have entered the covenant path by embracing his gospel and striving to endure to the end. The Nephites also used the phrase in the Old Testament pattern to explain the acts of God in delivering, blessing, and preserving his covenant people. Furthermore, some usages seem to invoke all three of these contexts simultaneously, demonstrating the comfortable integration of each of these perspectives in Nephite theological understanding.
Abstract: Although scholarly investigation of the Book of Mormon has increased significantly over the last three decades, only a tiny portion of that effort has been focused on the theological or doctrinal content of this central volume of LDS scripture. This paper identifies three inclusios that promise definitions of the doctrine or gospel of Jesus Christ and proposes a cumulative methodology to explain how these definitions work. This approach reveals a consistently presented, six-part formula defining “the way” by which mankind can qualify for eternal life. In this way the paper provides a starting point for scholarly examinations of the theological content of this increasingly influential religious text. While the names of the six elements featured in Mormon’s gospel will sound familiar to students of the New Testament, the meanings he assigns to these may differ substantially from traditional Christian discourse in ways that make Mormon’s characterization of the gospel or doctrine of Christ unique. The overall pattern suggested is a dialog between man and God, who initially invites all people to trust in Christ and repent. Those who respond by repenting and seeking baptism will be visited by fire and by the Holy Ghost, which initiates a lifelong interaction, leading the convert day by day in preparation for the judgment, at which she may finally be invited to enter the kingdom of God.Editor’s Note: This article was published originally in an international theological journal and is reprinted here as a service to the LDS community with minor revisions, updates, and edits included. See Noel B. Reynolds, “The Gospel according to Mormon,” Scottish Journal of Theology 68:2 (2015), 218-34. doi: 10.1017/S003693061500006X.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 3 Nephi
RSC Topics > D — F > Eternal Life
RSC Topics > G — K > Gospel of Jesus Christ
RSC Topics > Q — S > Repentance
Nephi tells the story of the founding events of the Nephite people in such a way that his readers will see him as a second Moses. Although Nephi’s use of the Moses typology has been previously noted, what has not been noticed before is that his father, Lehi, also employs this same typology in his farewell address in 2 Nephi 1-4 in order to persuade his descendants of his own divine calling and of their new covenant relationship to the same God who had given the promised land to ancient Israel. The fact that Nephi and Lehi both saw themselves as Moses figures demonstrates their awareness of a recognizable feature of preexilic Israelite literature that has only recently been explicated by Bible scholars.
Old Testament Topics > Moses
Old Testament Topics > Types and Symbols
Abstract: This study provides students of the Book of Mormon with the first comprehensive analysis of the many ways in which the word “spirit” is used in that volume of scripture. It demonstrates how the titles “Holy Ghost,” “Spirit of God,” “Spirit of the Lord,” “Holy Spirit,” and “the Spirit” are used interchangeably to refer to the third member of the Godhead. It also shows that the Holy Ghost was understood to be a separate being. The analysis is thoroughly integrated with scholarly studies of references to the spirit (rûah) in the Hebrew Bible. The functions of the Holy Ghost are also identified and explained.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mosiah
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Abstract In an earlier paper, I concluded that Lehi and Nephi were highly trained Josephite scribes and were associated with an official Jerusalem scribal school that preserved ancient Manassite traditions. There they acquired advanced writing skills and classical Hebrew and Egyptian, which would become the scriptural languages of the Nephite peoples. These they maintained in the new promised land and passed on from generation to generation through the entire thousand-year Nephite dispensation, even though the Nephite language itself would naturally evolve. Evidence of how they did this surfaces repeatedly throughout the Book of Mormon. The following paper documents how both Mormon and his son Moroni abridged and concluded the religious, military, and political records of Book of Mormon peoples, thus preserving key elements of the vast Nephite records collection for a later dispensation. That scribal process parallels the roles and schools of other cultures of the ancient Near East.
With the rapid and visible growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it was inevitable that doctrinal differences would arise between the Latter-day Saints and people of other faiths. Members of the LDS Church profess to be Christians, yet others doubt or do not understand this claim.
The contributors to Latter-day Christianity hope that the 10 essays contained in this full-color, illustrated book will help Latter-day Saints who want to explain their beliefs and will be useful to people outside the LDS Church who want a simple and clear statement of those beliefs. The essays address such topics as whether Latter-day Saints are Christian and what they believe about God, the Bible, personal revelation, human deification, salvation, and proselytization.
Abstract: This paper brings together contemporary Ancient Near East scholarship in several fields to construct an updated starting point for interpretation of the teachings of the Book of Mormon. It assembles findings from studies of ancient scribal culture, historical linguistics and epigraphy, Hebrew rhetoric, and the history and archaeology of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Levant, together with the traditions of ancient Israel to construct a contextualized perspective for understanding Lehi, Nephi, and their scribal training as they would have been understood by their contemporaries. Lehi and Nephi are shown to be the beneficiaries of the most advanced scribal training available in seventh-century BCE Jerusalem and prominent bearers of the Josephite textual tradition. These insights give much expanded meaning to Nephi’s early warning that he had been “taught somewhat in all the learning of [his] father” (1 Nephi 1:1). This analysis will be extended in a companion paper to provide the framework that enables the recognition and tracking of an official Nephite scribal school that ultimately provided Mormon with the records that he abridged to produce our Book of Mormon.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Lehi and his people understood their own times in terms of types and shadows from the past. God’s leading the family out of Jerusalem and reinstituting his covenant with Lehi in a new promised land can be understood only by comparison with the exodus and the roles of Lehi and Nephi in terms of Moses. This article identifies fourteen Mosiac themes and circumstances that Lehi invoked in his sermon recorded in 2 Nephi 1 and illustrates close parallels with these themes in Deuteronomy. Lehi may have compared himself to Moses as a rhetorical device to help his children see the divine direction behind his actions. In his final words to his children, Lehi invokes Moses’ farewell address to the Israelites. In so doing, Lehi casts himself in a role similar to that of Moses. Nephi portrays himself in similar terms on the small plates, apparently following the pattern set by his father.
Old Testament Topics > Moses
Old Testament Topics > Types and Symbols
Old Testament Topics > Types and Symbols
Abstract: This essay harnesses the late twentieth-century discovery of Hebrew rhetoric by Bible scholars to identify Lehi’s dream as the foundation of the carefully constructed unity in Nephi’s writings and to identify previously unrecognized elements of that dream which are distributed throughout his final work. The teachings and prophecies in 1 and 2 Nephi are shown to derive from their shared dream/vision. Further, the entirety of Nephi’s writings in the Small Plates is shown to be a tightly designed rhetorical production that establishes the centrality of Christ’s identity, mission, and teachings for current and future generations of Lehi’s descendants and ultimately for the entire world. For decades, interpreters of the Book of Mormon and its teachings have singled out the vision of the tree of life given first to Lehi and subsequently to his son Nephi as one of the book’s most prominent elements that require careful study. While literary and visual artists continue to find inspiration in the human dramas retold throughout the book, the text itself features visualizations1 of its basic doctrinal messages: (1) God on his throne in heavenly council, (2) the tree of life with the straight and narrow path, the iron rod, and the great and spacious building, and (3) the allegory of the olive tree. As I will explain below, those three visual images are part of Lehi’s and Nephi’s great vision and provide the blueprint for the complex of covenant history and [Page 232]doctrinal teaching recorded by multiple authors throughout the entire book. This article will trace that blueprint in the structure and content of Nephi’s Small Plates with limited side glances at the rest of the text.
Abstract: Contemporary Palestinian archaeology has produced two major threats to traditional interpretations of the history of ancient Israel. The first threat, which derives from scientific discomfort with the exodus story as an explanation for the sudden population expansion in southern Palestine at the beginning of the Iron Age (c. 1200 bce), has led to a wide variety of theories about how these Israelites could have been drawn from existing populations in the general area. This challenge is answerable in ways that preserve the exodus account, which is fundamental to the Book of Mormon as well as the Bible. The second threat is the glaring mismatch between the biblical glorification of David and Solomon’s “empire” and disparagement of the northern kingdom combined with the archaeological finding that the cities of the northern kingdom were far larger and more advanced than Jerusalem and the south. This discrepancy between archaeology and the biblical record provided support for the widely embraced theory that everything from Genesis through Kings had been revised to promote the political and religious preeminence of Judah above the other tribes. This second challenge does fit the archaeology and contemporary textual interpretations. But it also provides stronger grounding for the hypothesis that Nephi’s Brass Plates could have been produced by an ancient Manassite scribal school of which he and his father were highly trained members, and which may have been out of sync with the Jewish scribal schools and the elders of Jerusalem.
Review of The Book of Mormon: Second Nephi, The Doctrinal Structure (1989), edited by Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr.
Abstract: Commentaries on Nephi’s first book tend to interpret the fraternal struggles it reports as historical facts that are meant primarily to invite readers’ evaluative responses. While recognizing the historical character of the facts marshalled by Nephi, this paper will argue that the author transposes that history into an allegory meant to inspire his readers in all times and places to abandon prevailing metaphors of life that are focused on the attainment of worldly goods and pleasures. In their place, Nephi offers the revealed metaphor of life as a day of probation taught to him and his father in their great visions. God’s plan of salvation revealed to them made it clear that the welfare of each human being for eternity would be determined by a divine judgment on how effectively their lives had been transformed by their adherence to the gospel of Jesus Christ in mortality. The message of 1 Nephi is that all men and women are invited to let the Spirit of the Lord soften their hearts and lead them into his covenant path wherein he can prepare them to enter into his presence at the end.
RSC Topics > D — F > Faith
RSC Topics > L — P > Prophets
The great political question among Book of Mormon peoples was “Who has the right to rule?” Did Nephi’s descendants and those who followed them have a legitimate right to rule? Or should the right have belonged to Lehi’s oldest son Laman and his descendants? This quarrel is the cause of centuries of political and military struggle. But this was not the only problem. Even within Nephite society, an endless number of dissenters challenged the government. They often split away to join the Lamanites when they could not win control inside the Nephite system. These dissenters typically argued for the Lamanite view, in part because they thought they could line their own nests that way. By paying close attention to how this struggle was waged, we can see one of the reasons the Book of Mormon was written. Of course it is a witness for Christ and his teachings. But in addition, it provides reasons why we should believe that the tradition of the Nephites was just and correct. The two messages of the book are tied together in such a way that whoever accepts the teachings of Christ accepts that Nephi was a legitimate ruler, and vice versa.
Abstract: In previous and pending publications I have proposed interpretations of various features of Nephi’s writings. In this paper I undertake a comprehensive discussion of the seven passages in which Nephi and his successor Jacob explain the difference between the large and the small plates and describe the divinely mandated profile for each. While most readers of the Book of Mormon have been satisfied with the simple distinction between the large plates in which the large plates are a comprehensive historical record of the Nephite experience and the small plates are a record of selected spiritual experiences, including revelations and prophecies, that approach has been challenged in some academic writing. What has been missing in this literature is a comprehensive and focused analysis of all seven of the textual profiles for these two Nephite records. In the following analysis, I invoke the insights of Hebrew rhetoric as developed by Hebrew Bible scholars over the past half century to articulate a vision of how these scattered explanations are designed and placed to support the larger rhetorical structures Nephi has built into his two books. The conclusions reached support the traditional approach to these texts.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 2 Nephi
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Jacob
Abstract: In 2012 Joseph Spencer published an analysis of 1st and 2nd Nephi that interprets a phrase in 1 Nephi 19:5 as implying the true break in Nephi’s writings is not between the two scriptural books we now use but rather to be found at the end of 2 Nephi 5 and that the spiritual core (the “more sacred part”) of the small plates is in 2 Nephi chapters 6–30. In this essay I have mobilized several arguments from the canons of literary interpretation and basics of the Hebrew language to demonstrate that this starting point for Spencer’s interpretation of Nephi’s writings is seriously flawed.
[Editor’s Note: This paper repeatedly refers to three passages in which Nephi distinguishes his large and small plates projects. For convenience, the version of those passages from the Critical Text Project are fully provided in Appendix 1.].
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 2 Nephi
RSC Topics > A — C > Book of Mormon
RSC Topics > A — C > Creation
Book of Mormon Topics > Doctrines and Teachings > Plan of Salvation
RSC Topics > L — P > Plan of Salvation
RSC Topics > Q — S > Resurrection
The history of any people has a political dimension. If there is any structure of authority in a society, people will want to control that authority to promote their own interests. Politics is that realm in which this struggle takes place. Nephite and Lamanite politics and wars revolved around the issue of which of Lehi’s sons was the legitimate heir to the paternal right to rule.
Noel Reynolds explains how Nephi’s writings can be read in part as a political tract that documents the legitimacy of Nephi’s rule. He discusses the traditions of the Lamanites and Nephites, the events chronicled in the small plates of Nephi, the typologies of Moses and Joseph in Nephi’s writings, and he gives a chiastic analysis of 1 Nephi 3-5.
RSC Topics > Q — S > Repentance
Abstract: While Alma 36 has long been one of the most admired examples of classical Hebrew chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, critiques in the last two decades have questioned whether, in fact, it really meets the requirements of classical biblical chiasms. The principal objections have pointed to the large sections of the chapter that are not easily included in the chiasm as outlined by John W. Welch and other proponents. Until now, this debate has not taken note of dramatic new developments in the analysis of Hebrew rhetoric over the last fifty years. The following essay turns to the discoveries made in this new approach to Hebrew rhetoric and shows that when the new “levels analysis” is incorporated into a study of Alma 36, the entire text does have a role to play in the extended chiastic structure of the chapter.[Editor’s Note: An abbreviated version of this paper was presented at the 2019 Sperry Symposium and was included in that shortened form in the symposium volume. See Give Ear to My Words: Text and Context of Alma 36–42, edited by Kerry M. Hull, Nicholas J. Frederick, and Hank R. Smith, Religious Studies Center, 2019, 451–72. This complete and updated version is herein published by Interpreter with permission of the RSC.].
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Book of Mormon Topics > Literary and Textual Studies > Chiasmus
Review of Gordon Paul Hugenberger, Marriage as a Covenant: A Study of Biblical Law and Ethics Governing Marriage Developed from the Perspective of Malachi (Supplements to Vetus Testam, Book 52). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 1994. Pp. xx + 414. Paperback reprint edition with a modified subtitle published in 2014 by WIPF & STOCK, Eugene, Oregon. 343 pages, plus bibliography and four indices.
Abstract: In his book Marriage as a Covenant, author Gordon Paul Hugenberger begins with the late 20th century Bible-studies insight that in Israel, covenants were devices used to make binding on unrelated persons the same obligations blood relatives owed to each other. So by covenant, marriage partners became one bone and flesh. This thorough study of the Hebrew Bible and related literatures argues that the view of marriage as a covenant in Malachi 2:10‒16 echoes the first marriage in Genesis 2 and is consistent with the other passages in the Bible that have often been mistakenly interpreted to promote a patriarchalist view denigrating the position of wives vis-à-vis their husbands.
Old Testament Scriptures > Deuteronomy
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Old Testament Scriptures > Twelve Minor Prophets
““Strong Like unto Moses”: The Case for Ancient Roots in the Book of Moses Based on Book of Mormon Usage of Related Content Apparently from the Brass Plates” (2021)
““Strong Like unto Moses”: The Case for Ancient Roots in the Book of Moses Based on Book of Mormon Usage of Related Content Apparently from the Brass Plates” (2021)
Book of Moses Topics > Source Criticism and the Documentary Hypothesis
Abstract: Over 30 years ago, Noel Reynolds compared matching non-Biblical phrases in the Book of Moses and Book of Mormon. Based on this analysis, Reynolds proposed a possible connection between the Book of Moses and hypothetical material on the brass plates that may have influenced some Book of Mormon authors. Reynolds’s work, “The Brass Plates Version of Genesis,” provided potentially plausible explanations for additional relationships between the Book of Moses and Book of Mormon that arose in two later Jeff Lindsay studies: one on the Book of Mormon account of Lehi1’s trail and another on the Book of Mormon’s intriguing use of the ancient theme of rising from the dust. The additional findings and connections presented here strengthen the original case Reynolds made for the ancient roots of the Book of Moses, roots that could have extended to the brass plates and then on to the Book of Mormon. Critics might dismiss such connections by asserting that Joseph merely drew from the Book of Mormon when drafting the Book of Moses; however, this view overlooks significant evidence indicating that the direction of dependence is the other way around. In light of the combined evidence now available, it is time to reconsider Reynolds’s original proposal and recognize the possibility that the Book of Moses is more deeply rooted in antiquity that many have recognized in the past.[Editor’s Note: This article is based on a presentation by Reynolds and Lindsay made at the Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses Conference, Provo, Utah, Sept. 18–19, 2020, presented by The Interpreter Foundation, Brigham Young University Department of Ancient Scripture, Book of Mormon Central, and FairMormon. A more detailed version, along with an edited transcript of the question-and-answer session that followed the presentation, can be found in the forthcoming conference proceedings.].
“‘Strong Like Unto Moses’: The Case for Ancient Roots in the Book of Moses Based on Book of Mormon Usage of Related Content Apparently from the Brass Plates” (2020)
““Strong Like unto Moses”: The Case for Ancient Roots in the Book of Moses Based on Book of Mormon Usage of Related Content Apparently from the Brass Plates” (2021)
Book of Moses Topics > Source Criticism and the Documentary Hypothesis
“‘Strong Like Unto Moses’: The Case for Ancient Roots in the Book of Moses Based on Book of Mormon Usage of Related Content Apparently from the Brass Plates” (2020)
““Strong Like unto Moses”: The Case for Ancient Roots in the Book of Moses Based on Book of Mormon Usage of Related Content Apparently from the Brass Plates” (2021)
Book of Moses Topics > Source Criticism and the Documentary Hypothesis
In a 1991 BYU Studies article, I identified and analyzed three core Book of Mormon passages in which the gospel or doctrine of Jesus Christ is defined. Each of these passages presents the gospel as a six-point formula or message about what men must do if they will be saved. In the present article I go on to examine all other Book of Mormon references to the six elements in this formula. Faith is choosing to trust in Jesus Christ in all that one does. Repentance is turning away from the life of sin by making a covenant to obey the Lord and remember him always. Baptism in water is the public witnessing to the Father of that covenant. The baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost is a gift sent from the Father in fulfillment of his promise to all his children that if they will repent and be baptized, they will be filled with the Holy Ghost. It brings the remission of sins with its cleansing fires. The recipient of these great blessings must yet endure to the end in faith, hope, and charity in order to obtain salvation, or eternal life.
Early Christianity saw a wide proliferation of theories and practices concerning baptism, and now many Christians, including Mormons, commonly understand it as a means to repent and wash away one’s sins. But the Book of Mormon prophets taught that baptism is a covenant and a witnessing to God that one has already repented and commits to follow Jesus Christ, and that sins are remitted by the Holy Ghost.
The revival of scholarly interest in Abraham in recent decades provides a timely opportunity to explore the contemporary findings of biblical scholars from a Latter-day Saint perspective. This review leads to an in-depth exploration of how the Lord’s covenants with Abraham were understood by the Nephite prophets in the Book of Mormon, how their perspectives compare with contemporary biblical scholarship, and how the Nephite perspective may modify or expand standard Latter-day Saint approaches to understanding the Abrahamic covenant. This article identifies three interrelated streams of covenant discourse in the Book of Mormon—each defined by its respective focus on the (1) Lehite covenant, (2) Abrahamic covenant, or (3) gospel covenant. Though these three streams of covenant discourse are closely related, each is distinct in purpose. Nephite prophets integrated these three in unique ways to develop one larger understanding of God’s use of covenants to bring salvation to the world.
The two spellings strait and straight are often considered synonymous; however, they come from different Middle English words and have different meanings. Strait means “narrow” or “tight,” whereas straight means “not crooked.” The difference in these meanings affects the interpretation of the scriptural phrase “strait/straight and narrow path” and others like it. Reynolds and Skousen explore possible meanings that the original Book of Mormon authors may have intended in their use of the two words.
A polemical article against Mormonism wherein the writer compares Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon with Mohammed and the Koran. The coming forth of the plates and the visions of Joseph Smith are unsubstantiated by any witnesses. The author considers Mormonism to be a “brazen-faced deception . . . as black as the regions of hopeless night”
Many great scientists such as Newton and Einstein spoke and wrote freely of their religious thoughts and feelings, seeing no fundamental conflict between them and their science. Today there is a tendency to emphasize conflict more than harmony. Sometimes people of faith are criticized as blind, naive, or shallow, while scientists are painted as arrogant, unfeeling, or deceived. Educated dialogue between these two camps has too often been reduced to shallow platitudes or, even worse, silence. Truth is not in conflict with itself. Religious truth is established through revelation, and scientific inquiry has uncovered many facts that have thus far stood the test of time. It is incumbent upon us to seek insights into all truth to mesh together, where possible, its parts at their proper interface. We discover bridges between scientific and religious knowledge best if we pursue them through study, faith, and ongoing dialogue. The Summerhays lectures and this book are dedicated to discover and share insights on how the truths of revealed religion mesh with knowledge from the sciences. ISBN 978-0-8425-2786-6
Articles
RSC Topics > D — F > Faith
RSC Topics > L — P > Lifelong Learning
RSC Topics > T — Z > Testimony
RSC Topics > G — K > Godhead
RSC Topics > L — P > Learning
RSC Topics > T — Z > Unity
The purpose of this paper is to examine the scriptural accounts of the Creation from a scientific point of view with particular emphasis on physics and astronomy, although of necessity I will also have to deal to some extent with biology, chemistry, and geology. The views expressed here are my own and are not meant to represent the views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Brigham Young University. They are a distillation of my thoughts and conclusions over two decades of teaching and research.
RSC Topics > D — F > Fall of Adam and Eve
RSC Topics > Q — S > Scriptures
RSC Topics > A — C > Creation
The rendering of the Greek text of the Epistle to the Hebrews into modern English presents a flowing and easily understood translation of one of the most beautiful biblical studies of the nature and ministry of Christ. The English rendering comes from an extensive and excellent Commentary entitled The Epistle to the Hebrews by Richard D. Draper and Michael D. Rhodes forthcoming in 2019. This translation seeks to correct one of the major problems the King James translators were unable to overcome. These men were classists and knew well the power and beauty of the Attic prose of Plato and Aristotle. Unfortunately, “the rubbed down and difficult Greek” of the New Testament era held a number of mysteries they were unable to solve. This left a number of passages, especially in the dense and difficult writings of the epistles, very hard to understand in their translation. In this new rendering of the Greek text, the current translators have attempted to present the true sense of the New Testament writings as faithfully and clearly as possible in modern English. It strives to balance the esoteric details of a text with the importance of communicating the breadth of its meaning as clearly as possible to English readers. Sometimes grammatical and syntactical forms that make good sense in Greek seem stilted, odd, and even weird when translated word for word into English. The translators’ purpose has been to render the Greek in such a way that an educated reader could readily understand its meaning. They have consistently tried to avoid an overly “literal” translation, which would likely obscure original intents. They have, therefore, followed Bruce Metzger’s dictum to be “as literal as possible, but as free as necessary” in order to communicate to the English reader the meaning of the text. This Rendition is part of the BYU New Testament Commentary series. This scholarly project aims to create a faithful modern English translation together with a full, in-depth, carefully researched Latter-day Saint commentary for each book on the New Testament. As of 2019, volumes have been published on Mark, Luke, First Corinthians, and Revelation. More of the New Rendition and commentary volumes will be added in coming months and years.
The New Rendition of the book of Revelation provides a modern English translation of the Greek text while remaining true to the Apostle John’s intent. This translation is excerpted from The Revelation of John the Apostle by Richard D. Draper and Michael D. Rhodes. The text of Revelation in the King James Version seems oblique and in some cases inexplicable, but this New Rendition clarifies many misunderstood or misinterpreted passages and helps make John’s powerful testimony more understandable and applicable to the modern disciple. The authors have studied, taught, and published scholarly works on the book of Revelation for decades and aim to make the text accessible with this version. Insights into the meaning of this grand apocalyptic book are drawn from early Christian perspectives, Latter-day Saint scriptures, and a panoply of references to churches, angels, trumpets, seals, signs, beasts, and elders leading to the great marriage supper of the Lamb of God and the establishment of the celestial New Jerusalem. This Rendition is part of the BYU New Testament Commentary series. This scholarly project aims to create a faithful modern English translation together with a full, in-depth, carefully researched Latter-day Saint commentary for each book on the New Testament. More of the New Rendition and commentary volumes will be added in coming months and years. As of 2019, volumes have been published on Mark, Luke, First Corinthians, and Revelation.
An announcement made in Jerusalem—claiming that parts of the text found in the pyramid of Wenis were ancient Semitic and not Egyptian—could have implications applicable to the Latter-day Saints. If the claim proves to be true, these spells would be one of the oldest attestations of any Semitic language. Egyptologists have tended to reject the possibility of influence from non-Egyptians, but the existence of these Semitic lines would force them to reconsider that possibility. The reverse would also have to be considered, supporting the Book of Mormon’s suggestion that the Hebrews adopted Egyptian script to write Hebrew. However, the assertion has only been made and has yet to be proven.
The New Rendition of the book First Corinthians provides a modern English translation of the Greek text while remaining true to Paul’s intent. This translation is excerpted from Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians by Richard D. Draper and Michael D. Rhodes. This new version clarifies many previously vague or misunderstood passages and enlightens the text for today’s readers. This epistle is particularly interesting and important to faithful Christians interested in the Apostle Paul’s testimonies of knowledge, revelation, purity, gifts of the spirit, the sacrament, charity, the resurrection, baptism for the dead, heavenly glory, and many other topics crucial to the life of righteousness. This Rendition is part of the BYU New Testament Commentary series. This scholarly project aims to create a faithful modern English translation together with a full, in-depth, carefully researched Latter-day Saint commentary for each book on the New Testament. More of the New Rendition and commentary volumes will be added in coming months and years. As of 2019, volumes have been published on Mark, Luke, First Corinthians, and Revelation.
A literary analysis of the Book of Mormon. The author compares its language and style with the Bible attempting to determine what influence the Bible may have had on the Book of Mormon.
Two-volume compilation includes tracts and articles of varying authorship. Both volumes contain early missionary tracts, instructions to missionaries as to their conduct in the mission field, doctrinal statements from Joseph Smith and other Church leaders, and statements about Mormonism from people both in and out of the Church. Includes a list of prophecies made by Joseph Smith. Includes an analysis of the Book of Mormon and discusses doctrines taught within the book.
Ben E. Rich compiles literature by authors such as Parley P. Pratt, Joseph Smith, Orson F. Whitney, and others. Subjects treated include the afterlife, vicarious ordinances for deceased persons, latter-day prophets, and the Book of Mormon.
Defends the Book of Mormon by giving an overview of its story as a sacred history of the early inhabitants of America and a historical account of the coming forth of the book. Tells the history of the Spaulding theory, and discusses Martin Harris’s visit to Professor Anthon as a fulfillment of Isaiah 29.
Written as an expanded version of the author’s booklet Jehovah-Christ: Is He Our Elder Brother?,
The Book of Mormon confirms the biblical account, and Rich exhorts the reader to continuously study the infallible word of God. He cites prophecies concerning the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and discusses the words of ancient and modern prophets concerning the nature of God and Christ, the Savior’s role on earth and in the eternities, and latter-day events on earth.
Based on Jack West’s “Trial of the Stick of Joseph,” John Rich and illustrator Fritz Alseth use caricature illustrations to portray a mock trial of the Book of Mormon. With biblical references, archaeological evidences, and the testimonies of the Three and Eight Witnesses, the Book of Mormon is proved authentic.
This article deals with defining the exact date of Alvin Smith’s death which helps the author to pinpoint the visits of Moroni.
A chart that shows the chronology of events that take place in the Book of Mormon. It portrays the Nephites, Lamanites, and Mulekites on a timeline extending from 600 B.C. to A.D. 450, and shows corresponding world events in Greece, Rome, and Babylon.
As a part of the restoration of the gospel, the Book of Mormon became the companion volume of the Bible. No one who reads the Bible sincerely can deny that a volume of scripture is needed to record the fulfillment of the promises made to Joseph.
This article states that the Book of Mormon scriptures clarify perplexing biblical passages such as John 10:16, Ezekiel 38:18-19, and Isaiah 29:1-2.
This article discusses how there is “no motivating power in this world” comparable to the testimony of truth concerning Jesus Christ and there is no greater testimony of Jesus Christ than that of the Book of Mormon.
Karl G. Maeser has rightfully been called the spiritual architect not only of Brigham Young University but also of the Church Educational System. As the first superintendent of Church Schools, he helped found and maintain over fifty academies and schools from Canada to Mexico. He helped develop the public education system in Utah and helped establish the Utah Teachers Association. The students he taught personally included future United States senators and members of the House of Representatives, a United States Supreme Court justice, university presidents, and many General Authorities. He translated twenty-nine hymns and about a third of the Doctrine and Covenants into German and founded Der Stern, the Church’s German magazine (now called the Liahona). Based on extensive research, Called to Teach describes the life of this remarkable man and outlines the impact of his legacy. ISBN 978-0-8425-2742-9
Chapters
RSC Topics > D — F > Education
RSC Topics > D — F > Education
RSC Topics > L — P > Learning
RSC Topics > T — Z > Testimony
RSC Topics > T — Z > Zion
RSC Topics > T — Z > Zion
RSC Topics > A — C > Church History 1878–1945
RSC Topics > D — F > Education
RSC Topics > D — F > Education
RSC Topics > G — K > Honesty
RSC Topics > L — P > Learning
RSC Topics > D — F > Education
RSC Topics > T — Z > Zion
RSC Topics > L — P > Learning
The Book of Mormon is a witness for Christ of great value. Quotes Ezekiel 37:15-20, John 10:16, and discusses Christ’s visit to the Nephites as recorded in 3 Nephi.
This article speaks concerning God and Christ, and teaches that Old Testament prophets foretold of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.
The promises of the Book of Mormon found in Alma and 2 Nephi are being fulfilled and the Lamanites are bearing witness of its truthfulness.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
This article describes the importance of the Book of Mormon in the Restoration, missionary work, and daily life. The author gives his witness to the truthfulness and validity of the book.
This article is a reprint of a conference talk by LeGrand Richards. The Book of Mormon is tangible evidence that the angel Moroni came to visit the earth with the greatest message possible: that Jesus is the Christ. The author states that some prophecies and statements found in the Bible can only be understood by the added information found in the Book of Mormon.
This article states that the Book of Mormon is the most tangible evidence that the message and work of Joseph Smith is true; it is a witness of Jesus Christ. The author uses stories and letters of members and non-members to verify his message that people all over the world recognize the value of the Book of Mormon.
Describes the labors of Andre K. Anastasiou in preparing a Russian translation of the Book of Mormon.
Many prophesied of the star that would appear at the Savior’s birth, including Samuel the Lamanite, whose prophecy was quite detailed.
The author points out the existence of secret organizations in the United States: the Ku Klux Klan, the Loyal League, the Grand Army of the Republic and Fenianism. The Book of Mormon shows how secret societies brought destruction. Richards quotes all of Ether 8:13-26 and Helaman 6:22-30, and urges the Saints to “keep from all secret combinations and political associations”
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
In answer to questions by historian Herbert Bancroft, Richards gave a brief overview of the Book of Mormon story and how it came forth. This account contains many quotes concerning the Book of Mormon from Joseph Smith, Orson Pratt, and others.
Writes that the wild imaginations of men have blinded them to the pure and simple truth. They have imagined all sorts of theories of the Indians’ descent yet they do not believe the Book of Mormon, which tells the truth plainly. The LDS policy toward the Indians is to try to educate, elevate, and convert the Indians. He quotes from Mormon 5:19-20 that the gentiles will scatter the Lamanites after which the Lord will remember the covenant he has made with Abraham and all the house of Israel.
The prophet Joseph Smith taught in the Nauvoo House concerning the stick of Joseph, Ephraim, and Manasseh. Lehi was of the family of Manasseh and Ishmael and his family were of the house of Ephraim. The one hundred sixteen lost pages of the Book of Mormon contained a clear account of Ishmael’s ancestry. That is the reason, the prophet said, that no mention of Ishmael’s genealogy is in the Book of Mormon. Richards discusses the marriage relationships and union of the families. Lehi’s sons married Ishmael’s daughters thus combining the two tribes. Richards writes that this fulfills the prophecy in Genesis 48:20 that Ephraim and Manasseh togEther should become a multitude of nations.
The prophet Joseph Smith taught in the Nauvoo House concerning the stick of Joseph, Ephraim, and Manasseh. Lehi was of the family of Manasseh and Ishmael and his family were of the house of Ephraim. The one hundred sixteen lost pages of the Book of Mormon contained a clear account of Ishmael’s ancestry. That is the reason, the prophet said, that no mention of Ishmael’s genealogy is in the Book of Mormon. Richards discusses the marriage relationships and union of the families. Lehi’s sons married Ishmael’s daughters thus combining the two tribes. Richards writes that this fulfills the prophecy in Genesis 48:20 that Ephraim and Manasseh together should become a multitude of nations.
The prophet Joseph Smith taught in the Nauvoo House concerning the stick of Joseph, Ephraim, and Manasseh. Lehi was of the family of Manasseh and Ishmael and his family were of the house of Ephraim. The one hundred sixteen lost pages of the Book of Mormon contained a clear account of Ishmael’s ancestry. That is the reason, the prophet said, that no mention of Ishmael’s genealogy is in the Book of Mormon. Richards discusses the marriage relationships and union of the families. Lehi’s sons married Ishmael’s daughters thus combining the two tribes. Richards writes that this fulfills the prophecy in Genesis 48:20 that Ephraim and Manasseh together should become a multitude of nations.
The prophet Joseph Smith taught in the Nauvoo House concerning the stick of Joseph, Ephraim, and Manasseh. Lehi was of the family of Manasseh and Ishmael and his family were of the house of Ephraim. The one hundred sixteen lost pages of the Book of Mormon contained a clear account of Ishmael’s ancestry. That is the reason, the prophet said, that no mention of Ishmael’s genealogy is in the Book of Mormon. Richards discusses the marriage relationships and union of the families. Lehi’s sons married Ishmael’s daughters thus combining the two tribes. Richards writes that this fulfills the prophecy in Genesis 48:20 that Ephraim and Manasseh together should become a multitude of nations.
Discourse by Apostle Franklin D. Richards, delivered in the New Stake Tabernacle, Provo, Sunday Afternoon, Aug. 30, 1885. Reported By: John Irvine.
People have a hard time accepting the Book of Mormon because of the tradition that teaches that the heavens are sealed. The Book of Mormon and the Bible fulfill the prophecy in Ezekiel 37. “The Book of Mormon is the Bible of the American continent”
People have a hard time accepting the Book of Mormon because of the tradition that teaches that the heavens are sealed. The Book of Mormon and the Bible fulfill the prophecy in Ezekiel 37. “The Book of Mormon is the Bible of the American continent”
Discourse by Apostle Franklin D. Richards, delivered in the Tabernacle, Logan, Cache County, Saturday Afternoon (Quarterly Conference), May 17, 1884. Reported By: John Irvine.
The Book of Mormon can and does change lives.
Speaks of the distribution of the Book of Mormon, and gives testimonial accounts of missionaries and converts who have felt the power of the Book of Mormon. Missionaries who use the Book of Mormon in their proselytizing efforts have great success.
Several Book of Mormon characters come to life in this collection of poems that describe the Lehite departure from Jerusalem, courtships, marriages between the families of Lehi and Ishmael, and related items.
The copy of the Book of Mormon owned by Hyrum Smith at the time of his martyrdom is a cherished heirloom.
Presents a reprint of an article from the Boston U.S. Weekly Journal that tells of an ancient Aztec city whose inhabitants are believed to be part of the lost ten tribes. Their record is found in a book of parchment bound by brazen clasps and containing curious heiroglyphics. Richards predicts that evidence in support of the Book of Mormon will overwhelm the skepticism regarding its origins.
Writes concerning an article from the San Francisco Herald that describes ruined cities of California. “The wonderful and magnificent ruins . . . continue to puzzle and astonish the learning and wisdom of the great men of the nineteenth century, while every fresh discovery is an increasing evidence in favor of the Book of Mormon”
A typescript wherein Richards recalls visiting with Oliver Cowdery. Cowdery recalls the manner in which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon from the gold plates.
We are in the world—and we have come to this university—so that we ourselves might become microcosms of the Divine, that we might have “the image of God engraven” not only upon our countenances but also upon our very existences (Alma 5:19). Of all the microcosms in the world, surely the greatest is the man or woman who strives to become a reflection of the Savior.
A thesis that examines the life of David Whitmer, his testimony of the divinity of the Book of Mormon, and his involvement with the Mormons. As one of the witnesses who saw an angel and the gold plates, Whitmer’s testimony of the Book of Mormon is valuable.
Some may ask, Can you really go wrong with love—in any form? But Mormon taught that “if ye have not charity, ye are nothing” and that “whoso is found possessed of it [charity] at the last day, it shall be well with him”. Obviously, saying that charity is important is an understatement. But what if people understate charity and are left with a form that isn’t even the same charity Mormon spoke of? What if the present understanding of charity has already shifted from the divine precept taught in the Book of Mormon?
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
RSC Topics > L — P > Love
RSC Topics > A — C > Church History 1878–1945
RSC Topics > G — K > Godhead
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
Articles
Summarizes the book of 1 Nephi and provides a map of the Arabian Peninsula that traces the possible route of Lehi.
Summarizes the book of 1 Nephi and provides a map of the Arabian Peninsula that traces the possible route of Lehi.
Provides a summary description of 2 Nephi in sections: Lehi’s admonitions and testament to his posterity before his death (1:1-4:11); Lehi pronounces blessings on all his children and Nephi writes a small historical segment (4:12-5:34); a sermon by Jacob (chapters 6-10), and a lengthy written discourse from Nephi (chapters 11-33) in which he quotes large portions of Isaiah.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Jacob
A description of the book of Jacob, its organization and content. It seems to have three parts: a discourse by Jacob at the temple calling his people to repentance; prophecies of the Atonement of Christ, his rejection by the Jews, and the scattering and gathering of Israel; and the confrontation with the anti-christ, Sherem.
Enos, the son of Jacob, grandson of Lehi, recorded his own touching testimony and the promises that the Lord made to him concerning the Nephite records and his Nephite and Lamanite brothers. His mighty efforts to pray brought him a remission of his own sins.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Enos
The Book of Jarom was written by Jarom, son of Enos, who excuses his brevity by calling attention to limited space and lack of new doctrine.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Jarom
The Book of Omni records the brief writings of several authors, Omni, Amaron, Chemish, Abinadom, and Amaleki, who were not spiritual leaders, but were descendants of Jacob.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Omni
Describes the date and purpose of the book entitled the Words of Mormon.
The Book of Mosiah records events from 200 B.C. to 91 B.C. and is chronologically complex. It is filled with rich religious symbolism and significant political events. The text includes King Benjamin’s address, the records of Zeniff, Alma the Elder, and Mosiah, and the first reference to the Jaredites. Its underlying theme emphasizes deliverance from physical and/or spiritual bondage.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
An overall view of the longest book in the Book of Mormon, the book of Alma, which covers thirty-nine years of Nephite history (91-52 B.C.). The theme of the entire book is that the pure testimony of Christ is mightier than politics or the sword in establishing peace and goodness.
The book of Helaman records the period preceding the birth of the Savior. It was written by Helaman and was abridged by Mormon who inserts his own commentary. The most prominent person in the book is Nephi2. Also included are prophecies and teachings of Samuel the Lamanite and the rise of the Gadianton robbers.
A synopsis of the book of 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon. This book is the climax in Nephite history. It focuses on three advents of Jesus: his birth, his resurrection and appearance to the Nephites, and his Second Coming.
4 Nephi narrates four generations of peace, a time when there could not have been a happier people (4 Nephi 1:16). It also foreshadows the later destruction of the Nephites following their gradual rejection of the gospel.
Gives a synopsis of the book of Mormon, written by the prophet Mormon, who describes the fall of the Nephites and includes his final plea to future generations.
The book of Ether is an edited version of the twenty-four gold plates found by Limhi and translated by Mosiah. Its themes include secret combinations, the importance of following prophets, and wickedness brings destruction. It teaches of Christ’s premortal spirit body, that Three Witnesses would testify of the Book of Mormon, and that a New Jerusalem will be built in the western hemisphere.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Explains the contents and organization of the book of Moroni. Discusses the loosely related but important items that Moroni brought together including ordinances, Mormon’s sermons and letters, Moroni’s exhortation and farewell including his final testimony of Jesus Christ.
Sets forth biblical prophecies that relate to the Book of Mormon, tells the historical facts surrounding the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and provides commentary on 1 Nephi.
“Of all of Dad’s credentials, the most important is this, Dad loved the scriptures. His passion was the Book of Mormon. He was a lifetime student of the scriptures. He devoted his life to teaching others to love - and to a greater understanding of - the scriptures. As a young missionary in the 1930s, he began compiling the Combination Reference as a scripture reference tool for other missionaries. In 1945, as a chaplain in the U.S. Army, his missionary zeal led him to present a copy of the Book of Mormon to Pope Pius XII. After the war, in 1949, he joined the religion faculty at BYU, where he was instrumental in making the Book of Mormon a required class. This Book of Mormon Study Guide was developed at BYU as a personal study aid for all students of the Book of Mormon. He hoped that this book would aid you in your personal scripture study. And, like Nephi of old, may ’your soul also delight in the scriptures.’”
A loose-leaf size edition of the Book of Mormon text with wide, lined margins designed for personal study notes.
Presents Book of Mormon lessons dealing with Nephi, the Three Witnesses, and formulas for peace and national survival during times of war.
An arrangement of scriptural references to the standard works of the Church organized in dictionary format by subject. Subjects include angels, antiquity of the gospel, apostasy, baptism, Bible, confirmation, and death.
This article explains the different writings that comprise the plates given to Joseph Smith. They include: (1) Mormon’s abridgment, (2) the small plates, (3) the plates (abridgment) of Mormon, and (4) the sealed plates.
A booklet formatted to allow readers of the Book of Mormon to plan daily scripture study.
RSC Topics > G — K > Gold Plates
Discusses Joseph Smith’s reception and translation of the gold plates. Mormon abridged the large plates of Nephi that contained a more secular record of the time from Lehi’s exodus to the time of King Benjamin, who then began to write the more spiritual approach. Mormon included the small plates of Nephi with his abridged record. His only addition was a short transition piece that he placed in the record.
Summarizes the book of 1 Nephi and provides a map of the Arabian Peninsula that traces the possible route of Lehi.
Describes the date and purpose of the book entitled the Words of Mormon.
A report of the author’s explorations in Salt River Valley, Arizona, wherein he hypothesizes that the inhabitants of Salt River Valley came from Hagoth’s voyages to the north country (Alma 63). The peoples had buildings and temples made of cement and probably used metal.
A note affirming that the witnesses to the Book of Mormon were constantly true to their testimony.
Believes that Book of Mormon geography is discernible. Identifies the “narrow neck of land” as the Isthmus of Panama and the “River Sidon” as the river Magdalena. Maps included.
The purpose in writing this text is to “emphasize the geographic references in the [Book of Mormon], and to . . . identify those locations in the light of modern geography” Concludes that the Book of Mormon events covered both the North and South American continents, basing these ideas on the supposition that Panama is the “narrow neck of land” Several maps are included.
This instructional aid intended to increase understanding of the Book of Mormon includes a chronology, maps, photos, an account of how Joseph Smith obtained the gold plates, and a dictionary of proper names found in the Book of Mormon. Ricks also presents an explanation of the Urim and Thummim and uses geography, archaeology, ancient traditions, and biblical prophecies to demonstrate the divinity of the Book of Mormon.
Identifies an area in Bogata, Columbia as the Land of Zarahemla. Presents photographs and a description of the geography, climate, and vegetation of the area, drawing parallels with passages of the Book of Mormon text.
Writes of various external evidences of the Book of Mormon that Joseph Smith, according to Ricks, would not have been aware of. Mentions the great ruins that have been discovered in Central and South America, evidence of iron, wool, cement, elephants, and domesticated horses, ox, sheep, and swine.
Comprises a storybook version of the Nephite history for youth that sequentially covers all of the general Book of Mormon events, with the omission of the Jaredite record. Includes maps, geographical information, and archaeological data and suppositions, which the author incorporates into the story.
Suggests that the land northward is North America, the land southward is South America. The narrow neck is the Isthmus of Panama. The Hill Cumorah mentioned in the Book of Mormon is the same as the Hill Ramah of the Jaredites and is where Joseph Smith discovered the plates. Ricks continues to suggest precise locations for almost all cities mentioned in the Book of Mormon.
This article gives a definition of the Urim and Thummim and discusses its history using the scriptures as a guide.
Uses archaeological, geographical, scriptural, and historical information to theorize that the Mayan culture was related to the cultures of the Nephites and Jaredites. Desires to prove that advanced civilizations lived on the American continent before the arrival of Columbus.
A man returns a lost license to its owner with a copy of the Book of Mormon.
Relief Society President Barbara Winder presents members with copies of the Book of Mormon and challenges them to become “personally involved” with the Book of Mormon as a missionary tool.
A husband and wife put their testimony and picture in copies of the Book of Mormon and distribute them.
Tells how the Nephites started declining when they became the aggressors by attacking the Lamanites.
Review of Fun for Family Night: Book of Mormon Edition (1990), by Allan K. Burgess and Max H. Molgard.
Review of Jana Riess, annotator. The Book of Mormon: Selections Annotated and Explained.
Review of Book of Mormon Companion: Dictionary & More.
Review of The Lehi Tree: A Novel (1996), by Katherine Myers
In the Book of Mormon, the allegory of the olive tree—written by a prophet named Zenos and later quoted by the prophet Jacob to his people—stands out as a unique literary creation worthy of close analysis and greater appreciation. Besides its exceptional length and exquisite detail, this text conveys important teachings, deep emotion, and wisdom related to God’s tender devotion and aspirations for the house of Israel on earth. In The Allegory of the Olive Tree, 20 scholars shed light on the meaning, themes, and rhetorical aspects of the allegory, as well as on its historical, cultural, and religious backgrounds. In so doing, they offer answers to questions about the significance of olive tree symbolism in the ancient Near East, who Zenos was, the meaning of the allegory, what it teaches about the relationship between God and his people, how it might relate to other ancient texts, the accuracy of the horticultural and botanical details in the text, and much more.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Enos
Articles
Old Testament Topics > Types and Symbols
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Enos
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Enos
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Enos
Old Testament Topics > Flora and Fauna
The chronology of the use of plant imagery
Old Testament Scriptures > Psalms/Proverbs/Ecclesiastes/Song of Solomon
Old Testament Scriptures > Isaiah
Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
Old Testament Topics > Types and Symbols
Old Testament Scriptures > Jeremiah/Lamentations
Old Testament Scriptures > Ezekiel
Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
Olive oil in anointing, washings and anointing, baptism, and the tree of life
Old Testament Topics > Types and Symbols
Old Testament Topics > Flora and Fauna
The first volume in a series by Eborn Books and The Interpreter Foundation. The second title in this series is TEMPLE INSIGHTS. The Interpreter Foundation is a new organization, much like FARMS [The Foundation of Ancient Research and Mormon Studies.] Contributors and Chapters: 1. Cube, Gate and Measuring Tools: A Biblical Pattern, by Matthew B. Brown. 2. The Tabernacle: Mountain of God in the Cultus of Israel, by L. Michael Morales. 3. Standing in the Holy Place: Ancient and Modern Reverberations, by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw. 4. Understanding Ritual Hand Gestures of the Ancient World, by David Calabro. 5. The Sacred Embrace and the Sacred Handclasp, by Stephen D. Ricks. 6. Ascending into the Hill of the Lord: What the Psalms Can Tell Us, by David J. Larsen. 7. The Sod of YHWH and the Endowment, by William J. Hamblin. 8. Temples All the Way Down: Notes on the Mi\'raj of Muhammad, by Daniel C. Peterson. 9. The Lady at the Horizon: Egyptian Tree Goddess Iconography, by John S. Thompson. 10. Nephite Daykeepers: Ritual Specialists in Mesoamerica, by Mark Alan Wright. 11. Is Decrypting the Genetic Legacy of America\'s Indigenous Populations Key to the Historicity of the Book of Mormon? by Ugo A. Perego and Jayne E. Ekins.
These two volumes contain essays written by various authors in honor of Hugh W. Nibley. Many of the articles are related to Book of Mormon topics, such as the sacramental covenants, the Lamanite view, external evidences of the Book of Mormon, Lehi’s family and others. This work is reviewed in D.128.
Review of The Use of the Old Testament in the Book of Mormon (1990), by Wesley P. Walters.
Richard Lloyd Anderson is a scholars’ scholar. Among Latter-day Saints, he is dean and master of two separate fields of academic study: the New Testament and early LDS Church history.
His passion for history has profoundly influenced his scholarly career; his passion for order and system has shaped his missionary work and directed him into studying law; and his love for Brigham Young University and loyalty to its mission and destiny have guided his academic path.
This volume, as you can see from the table of contents, contains essays written by outstanding LDS scholars on Book of Mormon Studies, Old Testament Studies and Ancient History, and New Testament Studies and Early Christian History.
Articles
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
Richard Lloyd Anderson is a scholars’ scholar. Among Latter-day Saints, he is dean and master of two separate fields of academic study: the New Testament and early LDS Church history. His passion for history has profoundly influenced his scholarly career; his passion for order and system has shaped his missionary work and directed him into studying law; and his love for Brigham Young University and loyalty to its mission and destiny have guided his academic path. This volume, as you can see from the table of contents, contains essays written by outstanding LDS scholars on Book of Mormon Studies, Old Testament Studies and Ancient History, and New Testament Studies and Early Christian History.
Articles
RSC Topics > D — F > Doctrine
RSC Topics > L — P > Ordinances
Introduction to the first issue of the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies.
Introduction to this special issue of Sidney B. Sperry’s Book of Mormon writings.
RSC Topics > D — F > Fasting
RSC Topics > L — P > Prayer
Review of The Name of God: From Sinai to the American Southwest. A Script and Language of Ancient Palestine Also Found in the Ancient American Southwest (1998), by James R. Harris, assisted by Dann W. Hone
Old Testament Scriptures > Isaiah
Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
The place-names Cumorah, Jershon, and Zarahemla have possible Hebrew origins.
Old Testament Scriptures > Isaiah
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 Lehi in the Desert, The World of the Jaredites, There Were Jaredites, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 5.
An Egyptian script was possibly used to write Hebrew text on the Nephite record. Documents from the correct location and time period have texts and languages in varying scripts that lend credence to this scribal phenomenon.
Stephen Ricks discusses what Joseph Smith and his companions said about translating the Book of Mormon. They document the intense period of activity from April to June 1829, during which nearly all the translation took place.
Review of Studies in Scripture: 1 Nephi to Alma 29 (1987); and Studies in Scripture: Alma 30 to Moroni (1988), edited by Kent P. Jackson.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
The speech of King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon is a masterpiece of Christian literature. These inspired words influenced later Book of Mormon prophets for generations, and they continue to reach across time to stir countless people today. King Benjamin’s Speech Made Simple is a popular abridgment of the expansive volume King Benjamin’s Speech: “That Ye May Learn Wisdom.” Prepared with the general reader in mind, this streamlined version presents the essential contents of the original book. Eleven studies examine the classic speech from many angles, viewing it as a manual for Christian discipleship, a coronation and covenant-renewal text, an ancient farewell address, a key part of a religious celebration, a prophetic lawsuit, a masterful oration of stunning structural complexity, and much more. It acquaints readers with a great religious leader whose wisdom, inspired teachings, and parting testimony invite studious attention and lasting admiration. This book is a rich resource, spotlighting and making simple the profound meanings and intriguing complexities of Benjamin’s carefully wrought words.
Articles
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)
For readers of the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin’s speech is a treasure trove of inspiration, wisdom, eloquence, and spiritual insight. King Benjamin’s Speech: “That Ye May Learn Wisdom” is the most substantial collection of studies ever to focus exclusively on this landmark address.
The contributors examine this speech in the multifaceted contexts in which it was delivered: as a classic speech of a departing leader near the time of his death, as the focus of an annual festival season mandated anciently under the law of Moses, as part of a covenant renewal ceremony delivered within the sacred precinct of the Nephite temple in Zarahemla, and as preparation for the coronation of a new king.
Historical and linguistic tools and information are employed in these essays to help the reader to better grasp the speech’s historical setting, its doctrinal implications, its literary qualities, its influence then and now, and its overall brilliance. This book contains the complete text of the speech along with detailed notes, cross-references, textual commentary, and a select bibliography.
Articles
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)
The first six chapters of Mosiah are remarkable in several ways. They contain King Benjamin’s farewell address, one of the most memorable sermons we have on record. They also give us a picture of how Mosiah succeeded his father, Benjamin, to the Nephite throne. Many features of the ceremony that was involved reflect the traditions of ancient Israelite culture. First is the significance of the office of king. Second is the coronation ceremony for the new king. The details of this ceremony have parallels in Israel and other ancient Near Eastern societies and even in other parts of the world. Finally, the order of events reported in these chapters reflects the “treaty-covenant” pattern well known in ancient Israel and the ancient Near East. My discussion of these three sets of features will show how faithfully the Book of Mormon reflects these Old World practices and beliefs.
Review of S. Kent Brown and Peter Johnson, eds. Journey of Faith: From Jerusalem to the Promised Land.
This book is the first ever comprehensive study of the nearly 400 proper names and foreign words in the Book of Mormon, the results of more than ten years of cooperative investigation by individuals with expertise in the languages of the ancient world. This dictionary contains an extensive examination of the etymologies of each of the names and foreign terms in the Book of Momon.
Even in the Bible, nicknames and dysphemisms—expressions whose connotations may be offensive to the hearer—are not rare and were equally so in other parts of the ancient and early medieval world. In 1 Samuel the ungenerous husband of Abigail rudely refused hospitality to the men of David, greatly angering them. David and his men were so incensed at his offense against the laws of hospitality that they intended to punish him for his boorish behavior before they were dissuaded from their plan by Abigail (1 Samuel 25:1-35). Shortly thereafter the husband died suddenly and mysteriously (1 Samuel 25:36-37). To all subsequent history his name was given as “Nabal,” which means either “churl” or “fool,” a rather harsh nickname that might also shade off to a dysphemism.
Mosiah 2:5 provides the reader of the Book of Mormon with new insights about Israelite-Nephite family structure. In a passage set during what John A. Tvedtnes has persuasively argued is the Feast of Tabernacles, we read: “And it came to pass that when they came up to the temple, they pitched their tents round about, every man according to his family, consisting of his wife, and his sons, and his daughters, and their sons and their daughters, from the eldest down to the youngest.”
Nahom, a proper name given as the burial place of Ishmael in 1 Nephi 16:34, compellingly correlates archaeologically, geographically, and historically to the site of Nehem on the Arabian peninsula. However, as this article exhibits, some of the linguistic and etymological evidence given to connect the Book of Mormon Nahom to the Arabian Nehem is somewhat problematic.
Abstract: With a selection of a few notable examples (Zoram, Jarom, Omni, and Mosiah) that have been analyzed by the ongoing Book of Mormon names project, Stephen Ricks argues that “proper names in the Book of Mormon are demonstrably ancient.”
[Editor’s Note: Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article is reprinted here as a service to the LDS community. Original pagination and page numbers have necessarily changed, otherwise the reprint has the same content as the original.See Stephen D. Ricks, “Proper Names from the Small Plates: Some Notes on the Personal Names Zoram, Jarom, Omni, and Mosiah,” in “To Seek the Law of the Lord”: Essays in Honor of John W. Welch, ed. Paul Y. Hoskisson and Daniel C. Peterson (Orem, UT: The Interpreter Foundation, 2017), 351–58. Further information at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/to-seek-the-law-of-the-lord-essays-in-honor-of-john-w-welch-2/.].
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Omni
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mosiah
Book of Mormon Topics > Literary and Textual Studies > Proper Names
Abstract: In this essay Stephen Ricks takes a close look at the literary structure of a psalm, reintroducing us to chiasmus both in modern and ancient texts, including the Book of Mormon, then uses this literary structure to show how the psalm contains the basic historic credo of the Israelites, as seen in Deuteronomy and mirrored in 1 Nephi 17. Ricks then goes on to show how an essential part of the psalm is a covenant (“a binding agreement between man and God, with sanctions in the event of the violation of the agreement”), which ties it back to the temple. Ricks shows this by pointing out the points of covenant: Preamble, review of God’s relations with Israel, terms of the covenant, formal witnesses, blessings and curses, and reciting the covenant and depositing the text. This form is maintained in Exodus 19, 20, 23, and 24, and in the Book of Mormon in Mosiah 1-6. Psalm 105 follows this form, too. In the sacrament prayers, which in Mormon understanding is a covenant, points 1 to 5 are also present.
[Editor’s Note: Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article is reprinted here as a service to the LDS community. Original pagination and page numbers have necessarily changed, otherwise the reprint has the same content as the original.
See Stephen D. Ricks, “Psalm 105: Chiasmus, Credo, Covenant, and Temple,” in Temple Insights: Proceedings of the Interpreter Matthew B. Brown Memorial Conference, “The Temple on Mount Zion,” 22 September 2012, ed. William J. Hamblin and David Rolph Seely (Orem, UT: The Interpreter Foundation; Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2014), 157–170. Further information at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/temple-insights/.].
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mosiah
The distinguished career of Truman G. Madsen has earned him wide respect in and outside of LDS circles as an outstanding teacher, scholar, researcher, speaker, university administrator, church leader, and religious ambassador. With the publication of Revelation, Reason, and Faith: Essays in Honor of Truman G. Madsen, the Institute pays tribute to this remarkable man whose many accomplishments include helping to advance Book of Mormon scholarship and related interests of the Institute.
Edited by Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and Stephen D. Ricks (each of whom also author a chapter), the 800-plus-page volume contains contributions by 31 scholars, 10 of who are not Latter-day Saints, reflecting the wide appeal of Madsen’s academic work and influence. The book is organized into five sections: “Philosophy and Theology,” “LDS Scripture and Theology,” “Joseph Smith and LDS Church History,” “Judaism,” and “The Temple.”
Articles
Old Testament Topics > Creation
Old Testament Topics > Restoration and Joseph Smith
Old Testament Topics > Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha [including intertestamental books and the Dead Sea Scrolls]
Old Testament Topics > Moses
Abstract: This study considers the Book of Mormon personal names Josh, Nahom, and Alma as test cases for the Book of Mormon as an historically authentic ancient document.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 3 Nephi
The Temple in Time and Eternity, edited by Donald W. Parry and Stephen D. Ricks, is the second volume in the series Temples Through The Ages. The importance of the temple to a religious community of the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean world can scarcely be exaggerated. The eleven articles in this volume are divided topically into three sections: “Temple in Ritual,” “Temples in the Israelite Tradition,” and “Temples in the Non-Israelite Tradition.”
The “Temple in Ritual” section features Hugh Nibley’s discussion on “Abraham’s Temple Drama,” which identifies elements of the creation drama that appear in the book of Abraham and elsewhere in the ancient world. An article by Ricks discusses oaths and oath taking in the Old Testament. John A. Tvedtnes shows that baptizing for the dead was known in various parts of the Mediterranean world and in Egypt. In a second article, Tvedtnes enlightens our understanding of the form and purposes of the temple prayer in ancient times.
Richard R. Cowan, in the section “Temples in the Israelite Tradition,” traces the development of temples to modern times. Richard D. Draper and Parry make intriguing comparisons of temple symbolism between Genesis 2–3 and Revelation 2–3, focusing particularly on promises and blessings. Alan K. Parrish shares with us insights into modern temple worship throughout the eyes of John A. Widtsoe, and Thomas R. Valletta examines priesthood and temple issues by contrasting “the holy order of the Son of God and its spurious counterpart, the order of Nehor.”
The concluding chapters of the book, grouped into the section “Temples in the Non-Israelite Tradition,” include John Gee’s discussion of getting past the gatekeeper (gleaned from various Egyptian literary corpora), a fascinating study by Gaye Strathearn and Brian M. Hauglid of the Great Mosque and its Ka’ba in light of John Lundquist’s typology of ancient Near Eastern temples, and E. Jan Wilson’s enlightening treatment of the features of a Sumerian temple.
The temple is central to Latter-day Saint worship. Through modern revelation Joseph Smith restored the ancient tradition of temples and the ordinances performed therein. Studies of ancient temples can shed much light on latter-day temples and temple worship. Several years ago Latter-day Saint scholar Matthew Brown planned a conference entitled The Temple on Mount Zion and began to invite the participants. Matthew Brown loved the temple and temple worship and studied and published on ancient and modern temples. His interests and knowledge were vast. When Matthew passed away very unexpectedly in 2011, his friends decided to organize a series of conferences in his memory. This volume, the sixth in the series, contains proceedings from the fifth conference held in his memory 7 November 2020 and reflects many of the topics that Matthew loved, centered on the theme of the temple: past, present, and future. Chapters relating to the ancient past of the Bible and the Book of Mormon provide new insights into temple themes in Ruth, sacred names of Moses and Jesus Christ, prayer with uplifted hands, temple iconography of cherubim and seraphim, ritual purity in 3 Nephi 19, the rites of the Raqchi Temple in Peru, and sacred space in the early Christian Church. Of great significance to the present era is a chapter on women and the priesthood in the contemporary Church. And looking toward the future is a chapter on the Millennial Temple in Jackson County, Missouri in the context of its historic past. The purpose of the book series is to increase understanding and appreciation of temple rituals and doctrines, and to encourage participation in the redeeming work of family history and temple worship.
Articles
The idea of names as “keywords” has been associated with temples since very early times. In a temple context, the meaning of the term “keyword” can be taken quite literally: the use of the appropriate keyword or keywords by a qualified worshipper “unlocks” each one of a successive series of gates, thus providing access to specific, secured areas of the sacred space. In this presentation, we will explore how a series of names and titles purportedly given to Moses at various points in his life might relate to accounts of his ascents to heaven.
Book of Moses Topics > Temple Themes in the Book of Moses and Related Scripture
Abstract: This paper addresses the early Christian transition from temple-based Judaism to the Constantinian basilica of the fourth century. David argues that some Christians of the second and early third centuries may have had places of worship that, while not monumental in scale, qualify typologically as temples and were understood as such. These sacred structures may have been used for the performance of baptisms for the dead, as suggested by Doctrine and Covenants 124. In support of this thesis, he takes as case studies the Christian places of worship at ancient Edessa and Dura Europos, based on a combination of textual sources and archaeological remains. David then briefly applies these findings to a question posed years ago in studies by Hugh Nibley and John Lundquist, “What Is a Temple?”
[Editor’s Note: Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article is reprinted here as a service to the Latter-day Saint community. Original pagination and page numbers have necessarily changed, otherwise the reprint has the same content as the original.
See David Calabro, “From temple to church: Defining sacred space in the Near East,” in The Temple: Past, Present, and Future. Proceedings of the Fifth Interpreter Foundation Matthew B. Brown Memorial Conference, 7 November 2020, ed. Stephen D. Ricks and Jeffrey M. Bradshaw (Orem, UT: The Interpreter Foundation; Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2021), page numbers forthcoming. Further information at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/the-temple-past-present-and-future/.]Introduction.
Review of David E. Bokovoy and John A. Tvedtnes. Testaments: Links between the Book of Mormon and the Hebrew Bible.
Stephen Ricks discusses and gives sources for what Joseph Smith himself thought and said about the translation of the Book of Mormon. Further understanding comes from what was said by colleagues and co-workers who knew him at that period of time.
The process used by Joseph Smith to translate the Book of Mormon from the plates involved both human effort and divine assistance through the seerstone and interpreters.
Ancient Near Eastern treaties and Old Testament covenants exhibit many of the same literary elements. Of particular interest is the use of the Hebrew word y?da? ,“to know,” when it signifies “to enter into a binding agreement.” The use of this word in both treaties and scriptures supports the notion that prophets spoke of holy covenants using language that framed responsibilities between God and his people in legal terms. The Book of Mormon usage of to know reflects similar intent. This article discusses the background of the word to know, compares treaties with covenants, discusses to know in connection with ancient Near Eastern treaties and biblical covenants, and assesses to know in Book of Mormon covenants.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mosiah
“People may well ask: Why study warfare in the Book of Mormon? There are so many answers, among which are these: to understand better the events in the Book of Mormon, to develop a perspective against which to understand its teachings and messages, to enjoy the interesting lives of a remarkable people, and to aid in assaying the historicity of the book, ” writes John W. Welch at the beginning of Warfare in the Book of Mormon.
Articles
Book of Mormon wars fulfill Lehi’s prophecies about the terms and conditions for people to remain in the promised land.
This chapter considers the inconsistent amount of detail given to wars in the Book of Mormon, with some important conflicts receiving a mere sentence while several pages are dedicated to less important battles. The author concludes that the wars in the Book of Mormon are intended to prepare us for the spiritual conflict we face in our day.
“An important element in any military endeavor is the loyalty of the soldiers. Obviously, even the most brilliant military tactics will fail if the troops are unfaithful in fulfilling their duty. Often, to instill this loyalty, an oath of allegiance is administered to recruits. The well-known title-of-liberty episode in Alma 46 of the Book of Mormon includes an interesting example of just such an oath. This paper will examine that oath, drawing upon parallels from the ancient Near East for comparison.” [Author]
“The present study explores internally and comparatively several points of interaction between law and war in the Book of Mormon. Within the Book of Mormon, one can observe the effects of war on the normal affairs of Nephite government, the nature of their laws and norms pertaining to the conduct of war itself, and the use of armed forces in maintaining domestic order. One may also compare and contrast the Nephite experience with that of their Israelite relatives.” [Author]
This chapter examines missionary work in the Book of Mormon as a means to stop warfare with unbelieving groups. The author cites examples from the missions of the sons of Mosiah, as well as the mission to the Zoramites and the preaching of Nephi and Lehi. In each case, war ceased and prosperity was regained after the gospel was preached to the instigators of war.
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.
This chapter compares the war tactics of the Gadianton robbers in the Book of Mormon to Guerrilla warfare utilized by various groups throughout military history.
This chapter examines the claims of authors such as Fawn Brodie and David Persuitte that Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon as a piece of anti-Masonry literature. It concludes that, while there are similarities between the Gadianton robbers and Freemasons, it cannot be determined that the similarities were intentional. Additionally, the early Saints did not take an anti-Masonry stance or use the Book of Mormon to promote anti-Masonry sentiment.
This chapter examines similarities between the warfare and war-related rituals of ancient Mesoamericans and of the Jaredites in the Book of Mormon. It draws comparisons between secret combinations and treatment of captive kings in both societies.
The Psalms were originally the text of the ancient Israelite temple services. Their poetry was woven into a magnificent eight day pageant-like temple drama that depicted the full eternal sweep of the Savior’s mission and his Atonement. The principles taught in that drama were accurately preserved on the brass plates and taught by Nephite prophets throughout the Book of Mormon. Soon after Lehi and his family left Jerusalem, the city and its temple were destroyed and the Jews were taken captive into Babylon. While there, they modified their religion in order to fit their new situation. But in doing so, they lost much that was most important. Even after their return from the Babylonian captivity, the Jews did not restore their original ancient temple worship. The order of the Psalms was rearranged so they no longer could be read from first to last to learn the story they once told. Consequently, in the Savior’s time the temple at Jerusalem was not used in the same way as the Temple of Solomon. However, neither the story told in the ancient drama nor its teachings were entirely lost. Some of the people recognized them in the teachings of John the Baptist and the Savior, and the authors of the New Testament frequently quoted the Psalms to remind their readers that the ancient fathers once understood the Savior’s mission and Atonement. Now, using the New Testament, with the Book of Mormon and modern revelation as keys, Baker and Ricks have sought to reconstruct the original order of the Psalms and uncover the story they once told in the ancient Israelite temple drama.
Numerous differences exist between the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon and the corresponding passages in the King James Version of the Bible. The Great Isaiah Scroll supports several of these differences found in the Book of Mormon. Five parallel passages in the Isaiah scroll, the Book of Mormon, and the King James Version of the Bible are compared to illustrate the Book of Mormon’s agreement with the Isaiah scroll.
Few discoveries of the Hebrew script known by Nephite peoples have been made. However, one find in Newark, Ohio, has Hebrew-like inscriptions.
Few discoveries of the Hebrew script known by Nephite peoples have been made. However, one find in Newark, Ohio, has Hebrew-like inscriptions.
The Kinderhook plates remind one of the gold plates. They were metal plates clasped together with a ring. Hieroglyphics were imprinted upon them. They were taken to Joseph Smith to translate. He declared them to be genuine anti- Mormon literature and proclaimed them to be a hoax.
Abstract: Moroni’s years of wandering alone after the battle of Cumorah have been often discussed, but not in the context of how they impacted his writing and editorial work. John Bytheway’s latest offering provides us insight into the man Moroni and how his isolation impacted the material that he left for his latter-day readers.
Review of John Bytheway, Moroni’s Guide to Surviving Turbulent Times. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2017). 159 pp., $11.99.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Recognizing that individual languages use certain conventions or codes to communicate messages, Chauncey Riddle looks at language used in the Book of Mormon to illuminate what might be hidden meanings. The code language of the Book of Mormon points toward Jesus Christ. His calling and his attributes can be found in the names used in scripture, in words used in ordinances, and in words of worship and blessing. All of this was done so that the trace of the true Savior would not become lost among the children of Israel, try as they might to avoid it.
RSC Topics > Q — S > Sin
A polemical work attempting to describe and criticize the beliefs of numerous religious groups both Christian and non-Christian. Pages 153-67 deal with Mormonism. The Anthon denial is cited as proof against the Book of Mormon and the author notes several absurdities and anachronisms. [M. R.]
Old Testament Topics > Scripture Study
Old Testament Topics > Teaching the Old Testament
Old Testament Topics > Scripture Study
Old Testament Topics > Teaching the Old Testament
Grant Hardy’s 2010 book Understanding the Book of Mormon changed the landscape of Book of Mormon studies by paying careful attention to the role of that scripture’s three primary editors, who were also narrators. Hardy teases out the specific personality of each one: Nephi, a theologian concerned with his legacy and place in history; Mormon, a historian whose choice and placement of primary sources often reveals as much as his own narration; and Moroni, the wandering survivor of one dying civilization who chose to focus his brief record on the fall of a previous one. Through detailed textual criticism, Hardy invites readers to better understand the complexity and richness of the Book of Mormon
A work that attempts to understand the psychological and environmental factors that influenced Joseph Smith, his early visions, and the Book of Mormon. Chapter 4 and 5 introduce possible sources behind the Book of Mormon such as Joseph Smith, Sr.’s dream of the tree of life, Ethan Smith’s View of the Hebrews, Elias Boudinot, Josiah Priest, the Westminster Confession, popular contemporary religious ideas, and others. Appendix II discusses the possibility that Joseph Smith was an epileptic, which would presumably explain his visions. Appendix III contains a discussion of the Spaulding-Rigdon theory and the author’s reasons for rejecting it in favor of a psychological explanation. [M. R.]
A polemical article against Mormonism wherein the writer views Mormon beliefs as being somewhat antiquated. It is asserted that few Mormons have ever read the Book of Mormon. [M. R.]
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mosiah
Compares the Book of Mormon and the View of the Hebrews. The parallels have also been studied by B. H. Roberts and Hugh Nibley, who say that any connections that may be made are also found in the Bible. The emphasis of this paper is on passages from Isaiah that are common to all three books.
Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
Michael T. Ringwood teaches that we can become like Shiblon in the Book of Mormon as we are truly good and without guile.
A psychological study of Mormonism’s founder, with an attempt to demonstrate that the Book of Mormon is a forgery and that Joseph Smith was deranged.
Summary of the latest excavations in New York, providing the archaeological history of the state. Lists evidences supporting the movements of Book of Mormon peoples in New York. This work is reviewed in W.062.
Suggests that Lehi’s ancestors may have defected from the Northern Kingdom (2 Chronicles 11:16) and were assimilated into the tribes of the Southern Kingdom as an explanation to Book of Mormon critics that all Israelites knew their lineage and Lehi found his only by reading the brass plates.
Lists Book of Mormon passages that tell of scriptural writings that would come forth in a future day. Also includes a Three Nephite story.
Explains the motives and psychological structure of anti-Mormon communications. Offers advice to those who are troubled by faith-destroying rhetoric.
Gives an analysis of the composition of the Book of Mormon, provides an explanation of Mormon’s work of abridgment, identifies the contributors to the Book of Mormon text, and presents a comparison of the Book of Mormon Isaiah with the biblical Isaiah.
Gives an analysis of the composition of the Book of Mormon, provides an explanation of Mormon’s work of abridgment, identifies the contributors to the Book of Mormon text, and presents a comparison of the Book of Mormon Isaiah with the biblical Isaiah.
Gives an analysis of the composition of the Book of Mormon, provides an explanation of Mormon’s work of abridgment, identifies the contributors to the Book of Mormon text, and presents a comparison of the Book of Mormon Isaiah with the biblical Isaiah.
Gives an analysis of the composition of the Book of Mormon, provides an explanation of Mormon’s work of abridgment, identifies the contributors to the Book of Mormon text, and presents a comparison of the Book of Mormon Isaiah with the biblical Isaiah.
Examines the structure of the Book of Mormon—the first section of the Book of Mormon represents a verbatim translation of the “smaller plates” of Nephi and the remainder is an abridgment with comments, warnings, prophecies, and admonitions mixed with narrative by Mormon and his son Moroni. Compares biblical passages with similar verses quoted in the Book of Mormon.
Discusses the close similarities between the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 and in 3 Nephi 12-14, and suggests that Joseph Smith used the available language of the New Testament to ease the burden of translating.
Affirms the need for a “New Witness” to confirm the divine nature and authenticity of the Bible. The Book of Mormon is the new witness and was translated by the “gift and power of God.”
The Book of Mormon gives the account of the resurrected Christ visiting and teaching the ancient inhabitants of the western world. The purpose of the Book of Mormon is to convince both Jew and gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God.
B. H. Roberts responds to Mr. Bolitho, who attempts to prove the Book of Mormon false by showing that the Book of Mormon dates of Christ’s birth and death do not accord with the Bible. Roberts explains the possible differences between Nephite and Jewish calendrical systems, citing scripture and chronologists.
Response to an accompanying article, “The Book of Mormon attacked by ‘M’” Roberts refutes common accusations that the Book of Mormon plagiarizes Shakespeare and the New Testament.
Collection of unpublished papers defending the Book of Mormon. Discusses linguistics, the question of the origin of the native Americans, the literature available to Joseph Smith when he translated the Book of Mormon, similarities between the Book of Mormon and Ethan Smith’s View of the Hebrews, and the Christ figure in America. Roberts declares his faith in the Book of Mormon believing that in time God will vindicate it and all will know of its truthfulness though now they scoff.
This article is a response to an inquiry made concerning the theory of translation of the Book of Mormon as presented in the Senior Manual of 1905-1906.
A brief description of the Book of Mormon and its people, and a discussion of its purpose as a witness for Jesus Christ.
America is a choice land and all who possess it must repent and serve God or be swept off.
The Book of Mormon shows that God spoke to the Jews in the Old Testament, the Christians in the New Testament, and the inhabitants of the American continents. A New Jerusalem or Zion is to be built up in the last days. The Book of Mormon declares the divinity of Christ and 3 Nephi is the fifth Gospel that declares that Christ appeared to the people of the New World after his resurrection.
Discusses the pre-mortal spirit life of Christ; the revelation of Christ to the brother of Jared; the Nephite knowledge of Christ through visions and revelations; and the visit of the risen Christ among the Nephites.
The author correlates Native American traditions and beliefs with the birth and death of Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon account of Christ’s coming to the western hemisphere.
The angel Moroni visited Joseph Smith telling him of the records that contain an abridged history of the ancient inhabitants of America and the fullness of the gospel. Joseph Smith received the plates and translated them using the Urim and Thummim. Witnesses testified of the plates.
The author writes of a monument of Christ erected on the border of Argentina and Chile as a sign of peace between the two nations, and of another monument of Christ, the LDS temple, built in Hawaii. “Those who believe in the Book of Mormon also believe that this group of islands was colonized by certain adventurous people from the mainland of America [Hagoth, Alma 63].” These two monuments have been erected on a land that Christ once visited.
A history of the Church, including detailed discussions of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, Joseph obtaining the plates, Lucy Mack Smith’s description of the Urim and Thummim, the translation, Professor Anthon’s letter, and the loss of the 110 pages of manuscript. Examines the mode of translation as reported by those who were near the prophet. Reports the testimony of the Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses, discusses anti-Mormon criticism and the excommunication of the Three Witnesses. Reveals details of the publication of the Book of Mormon, the efforts to thwart its publication, and other problems concerning the copyright. Provides an analysis of the purpose and structure of the book. Considers the conflict between Book of Mormon teachings and the revelation given to the Prophet on marriage.
Corianton was first published as a serial in the Contributor, 1889. At that time the story was well received by a large circle of readers and the Author was urged by many of his friends to continue in that line of composition, as much good might come of it. A call came to engage in other work, however, and the delightful field just entered had to be abandoned. During the years that have intervened since the first publication of the story, many have inquired if Corianton would not appear in booklet form, to which the Author always replied in the affirmative, but without being able to say when the time of publication would come. Since the simple Nephite story, however, promises to become famous through Mr. O. U. Bean’s dramatization of it, many—I may say very many—have expressed a desire of forming the acquaintance of Corianton as he first appeared; and hence the Author presents Corianton, the Nephite.
Corianton was first published as a serial in the Contributor, 1889. At that time the story was well received by a large circle of readers and the Author was urged by many of his friends to continue in that line of composition, as much good might come of it. A call came to engage in other work, however, and the delightful field just entered had to be abandoned. During the years that have intervened since the first publication of the story, many have inquired if Corianton would not appear in booklet form, to which the Author always replied in the affirmative, but without being able to say when the time of publication would come. Since the simple Nephite story, however, promises to become famous through Mr. O. U. Bean’s dramatization of it, many—I may say very many—have expressed a desire of forming the acquaintance of Corianton as he first appeared; and hence the Author presents Corianton, the Nephite.
A fictional portrayal of events in the life of Corianton, one of the sons of Alma the Younger. Korihor is brought forth for judgment in the city of Zarahemla. Corianton and his brother Shiblon discuss the proceedings, with the former taking the side of the Nephite Anti-Christ and dismissing the teachings of his fathers. Instead of accompanying his brother in planning for the upcoming mission to the Zoramites, Corianton goes off on his own to visit Korihor in prison.
A fictional portrayal of events in the life of Corianton, one of the sons of Alma the Younger. Korihor is brought forth for judgment in the city of Zarahemla. Corianton and his brother Shiblon discuss the proceedings, with the former taking the side of the Nephite Anti-Christ and dismissing the teachings of his fathers. Instead of accompanying his brother in planning for the upcoming mission to the Zoramites, Corianton goes off on his own to visit Korihor in prison.
A fictional portrayal of events in the life of Corianton, one of the sons of Alma the Younger. To the grief of his father, Corianton is among the supporters of Korihor that accompanies him to his trial. Although acquitted by the law of the land, Korihor initiates a conflict with the High Priest, Alma the Younger, who boldly declares his testimony and witness of God. Korihor demands a sign, and receives one in being struck dumb and losing his ability to speak. Seeing he has lost his supporters, he flees. As the people disperse, Alma the Younger goes to speak with his son.
A fictional portrayal of events in the life of Corianton, one of the sons of Alma the Younger. To the grief of his father, Corianton is among the supporters of Korihor that accompanies him to his trial. Although acquitted by the law of the land, Korihor initiates a conflict with the High Priest, Alma the Younger, who boldly declares his testimony and witness of God. Korihor demands a sign, and receives one in being struck dumb and losing his ability to speak. Seeing he has lost his supporters, he flees. As the people disperse, Alma the Younger goes to speak with his son.
A fictional portrayal of events in the life of Corianton, one of the sons of Alma the Younger. Corianton joins the mission to the Zoramites. While he is an effective missionary, he has not been fully converted to all the principles of the gospel, and is beset by pride. In the streets of Antionum, he encounters the crazed Korihor, who is trampled by the horses of the city guardsman before his eyes. Embittered by what he percieves as a lack of mercy on the part of the Lord, he returns to his lodging at the home of one of the chief Zoramites and is confronted by a woman who says she has been looking for him.
A fictional portrayal of events in the life of Corianton, one of the sons of Alma the Younger. Corianton joins the mission to the Zoramites. While he is an effective missionary, he has not been fully converted to all the principles of the gospel, and is beset by pride. In the streets of Antionum, he encounters the crazed Korihor, who is trampled by the horses of the city guardsman before his eyes. Embittered by what he percieves as a lack of mercy on the part of the Lord, he returns to his lodging at the home of one of the chief Zoramites and is confronted by a woman who says she has been looking for him.
A fictional portrayal of events in the life of Corianton, one of the sons of Alma the Younger. Corianton walks with the woman, who introduces herself as Joan of Siron, and claims she is kin to Seantum, the Zoramite with whom he is lodging. She flatters him and appeals to his vanity. He joins her in a party at the house of Seantum, dancing with her and partaking of wine. She departs after midnight, wherein he feels guilt at his indiscretion and how the other missionaries would react to it, but he continues among the other revellers until he passes out.
A fictional portrayal of events in the life of Corianton, one of the sons of Alma the Younger. Corianton walks with the woman, who introduces herself as Joan of Siron, and claims she is kin to Seantum, the Zoramite with whom he is lodging. She flatters him and appeals to his vanity. He joins her in a party at the house of Seantum, dancing with her and partaking of wine. She departs after midnight, wherein he feels guilt at his indiscretion and how the other missionaries would react to it, but he continues among the other revellers until he passes out.
A fictional portrayal of events in the life of Corianton, one of the sons of Alma the Younger. The next morning, Corianton encounters his brother Shiblon, who exhorts him to flee and tells him that he was reported in the company of the harlot Isabel the night before. Corianton protests his innocence, and does not believe his brother, who is shortly thereafter arrested by Seantum for slandering his family. Seeing his father and Ammon pursued by a mob and mocked for his own actions, Corianton is ashamed and confronts Joan, now revealed as the harlot Isabel. She convinces him to come with her to the land of Siron. In the aftermath of his departure, the mission to the Zoramites departs the city, soon to be followed by the believers among the Zoramites, who are cast out by their brethren. In the land of Siron, Isabel reveals her true colors to Corianton and orders him beaten and taken in bonds to the land of Jershon. There, he is stoned by the refugees of Antionum, until rescued by his brother Shiblon. As he recovers, he is taught the great fundamental truths of the gospel by his father Alma the Younger, and is finally humbled.
A fictional portrayal of events in the life of Corianton, one of the sons of Alma the Younger. The next morning, Corianton encounters his brother Shiblon, who exhorts him to flee and tells him that he was reported in the company of the harlot Isabel the night before. Corianton protests his innocence, and does not believe his brother, who is shortly thereafter arrested by Seantum for slandering his family. Seeing his father and Ammon pursued by a mob and mocked for his own actions, Corianton is ashamed and confronts Joan, now revealed as the harlot Isabel. She convinces him to come with her to the land of Siron. In the aftermath of his departure, the mission to the Zoramites departs the city, soon to be followed by the believers among the Zoramites, who are cast out by their brethren. In the land of Siron, Isabel reveals her true colors to Corianton and orders him beaten and taken in bonds to the land of Jershon. There, he is stoned by the refugees of Antionum, until rescued by his brother Shiblon. As he recovers, he is taught the great fundamental truths of the gospel by his father Alma the Younger, and is finally humbled.
A fictional narrative based on the Book of Mormon story of Corianton found in the book of Alma.
Reviews the life of David Whitmer who retained his testimony of the Book of Mormon until his death in 1888.
Presents a history of David Whitmer’s life, the circumstances of the viewing of the plates, his final testimony, the charges that he had denied his testimony, and his rebuttal. He is declared a faithful witness to his death.
Investigates the manner of translation of the Book of Mormon. The process seems to indicate great spiritual, mental, and physical effort had to be made on the part of the translator in connection with his use of the Urim and Thummim. A thorough examination is made of the Spaulding theory, the allegations that the Prophet Joseph had met secretly with Sidney Rigdon before the Book of Mormon’s publication, and Rigdon’s denials. The Book of Mormon originated as a sacred record of ancient inhabitants of America, preserved by the hand of God.
The Jaredite/Nephite nations were destroyed because of wickedness. America is a choice land and all who possess it must live righteously or be swept off of the land. The gentile nations who occupy America during the present era must worship God or be destroyed as were earlier inhabitants.
The appearance of the Savior to a group of people in the land Bountiful after his ascension into heaven (3 Nephi) was personal testimony of Christ himself. The people on the American continent were the “other sheep”
The more evidence there is, the stronger faith will become. The Book of Mormon increases the evidence for supreme religious truths. Bringing forth this book may be said to double the divine evidence for these truths. This book is a new volume of scripture, the voice of the inhabitants of the western continent testifying that they were not neglected by God.
The Book of Mormon came forth at a time when there was a great need for faith. It is a record of God’s personal dealings with the ancient inhabitants of America and its purpose is to convince the Jew and gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God.
Refers to the prophecy of Samuel the Lamanite about Christ’s birth and the prophecy’s subsequent fulfillment (3 Nephi 8-11). The Easter event in the western world was “established by ocular and auditory evidence”
Discusses John 10:14-16 where the Savior speaks of his other sheep. The Book of Mormon reveals that this other “fold” was the branch of Israel in America.
Addresses claims against 3 3 Nephi by “a sectarian minister of high standing” that the “Fifth Gospel” only deserved a place among the “apocryphal gospels” because he challenged that it did not add anything to the understanding of Christ. Elder Roberts responds in this article be asserting that 3 Nephi’s relation of the appearance of the risen Christ on the American continent shows that His ministry was not limited to the eastern hemisphere; He also visited the lost tribes of Israel and raised up prophets in the Americas who foretold his appearance.
Continues addressing the claims against 3 Nephi of “a sectarian minister of high standing” by citing Native American tradition and history that offered parallels to the destruction that occurred at the death of the Savior. Roberts specifically cites teachings of the Savior at his appearance in Bountiful and at His Sermon at the Temple.
Continues addressing the claims against 3 Nephi of “a sectarian minister of high standing” by noting distinctions between the Sermon on the Mount in the Old World and the Sermon at the Temple in the New World, specifically between the Savior’s remarks to the twelve and those to the multitude, and pointing out that 3 Nephi specifies the proper mode of baptism and the sacrament.
Concludes addressing the claims against 3 Nephi of “a sectarian minister of high standing” by discussing the Savior’s teachings of John 10:16 on “other sheep” and how that teaching is fulfilled by His ministry to the Nephites and the lost tribes. He states that “the truths of the fifth or Nephite gospel are as precious and important as are those of the other four gospels.”
Short biographical sketches of Jacob and King Benjamin. Jacob saw the Redeemer in his youth and recorded the prophecy of Zenos. Benjamin was an able warrior and wise and industrious leader.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Enos
A short biographical sketch of Nephi, the son of Lehi, showing his faith in and obedience to God. Nephi labored as an “agriculturist, miner, architect, builder, engraver, warrior, ruler, instructor, prophet, seer, and revelator.”
Defines “the Gospel” as the power of God unto salvation. It is salvation from death. All will be resurrected. When the resurrected Christ appeared to the Nephites he left a multitude of witnesses.
This article produces a Mormon view of the historical-critical method of biblical source analysis. “The methods . . . of higher criticism we recognize as proper; but we must disagree as to the correctness of many of the conclusions arrived at by that method.” The author deals with the literary critics by delivering logic against logic, but also establishes the spiritual nature of the Book of Mormon. The first part covers chronology and 1 Nephi.
How Book of Mormon evidence contradicts biblical scholarship, especially the theory of multiple authorship of Isaiah
This article produces a Mormon view of the historical-critical method of biblical source analysis. “The methods . . . of higher criticism we recognize as proper; but we must disagree as to the correctness of many of the conclusions arrived at by that method.” The author deals with the literary critics by delivering logic against logic, but also establishes the spiritual nature of the Book of Mormon. The second part covers Isaian authorship.
How Book of Mormon evidence contradicts biblical scholarship, especially the theory of multiple authorship of Isaiah
Contains the story of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon interspersed with journal entries, important footnote accounts, newspaper articles, accounts given to scribes, and commentary. Discusses Moroni’s visit, the circumstances under which the records were delivered to the prophet, the attempts to steal them, the work of translation, Martin Harris’s visit to Professor Anthon, the loss of the 116 pages of manuscript, the translation process, the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood, the Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, copyright laws, and the publication of the book.
Bearing witness of the Father and of the Son—and especially of the Son—seems to be the major function of the Holy Ghost, Supreme Witness for God (1 Nephi 12:18).
Christ is God manifested. If men would know God, all they have to do is hold up a clear vision of the Christ. Christ appeared to the people in Bountiful after his resurrection.
Gives the purpose of the Book of Mormon; identifies Jesus Christ as deity and discusses the “Light of Christ”
Refers to Jesus as the “Creator of all things,” as well as “the Father of Heaven and of Earth” This same thought is repeated in the Book of Mormon by Mosiah, Alma, Nephi, and Moroni in connection with the idea that Jesus is “the Creator”
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Jesus came that he might redeem the children of men from the Fall, and because they are redeemed they are free (2 Nephi 2:22-27). Resurrection from the dead is as universal as death—therefore Jesus is referred to as the Redeemer.
Scriptural passages point out the difference in Christ as a “Redeemer” and Christ as a “Savior” (Alma 22:14; Helaman 15:18). Christ’s work brings universal redemption from physical death through resurrection, and brings salvation from the effects of individual sin through faith and repentance.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Sets forth the necessity of sharing the restored gospel knowledge with others. Mormonism has a unique understanding of God and man’s purpose. He expounds upon 2 Nephi 2:25; discusses the prophecies in the Book of Mormon concerning the gentiles and America.
A new tracting system is extended mission-wide. In tract number four, a description of the Book of Mormon by Joseph Smith is given. The tract also discusses the resurrected Christ in America, the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, the Book of Mormon as a “Fifth Gospel,” “other sheep,” the Book of Mormon as a witness for the Gospel as well as for the Christ, and baptism.
“Men are that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 11:25-27). The resurrected man can die no more, his spirit and body will never be divided again, and thus will progress through the eternities if he wills it so (Alma 11:45).
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Joy comes from experiencing and knowing opposites, and then choosing the better part (2 Nephi 2:25).
The doctrine of free agency is strongly set forth (2 Nephi 2:26-27; Alma 29:4).
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
2 Nephi 2:11-14 presents a brilliant philosophical discussion on the idea that there must be opposition in all things. The very existence of humanity depends upon these opposites.
Adding to the five known philosophies of life, Epicureanism, Stoicism, Platonism, (fourth not mentioned), and Christianity is the sixth philosophy, or the Philosophy of God in the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. It brings a unity to life. The teachings in the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants clarify the meaning of life.
Tabernacle discourse explaining the LDS perspective on Jesus’ role as the Savior of mankind. Quotes Nephi’s words (2 Nephi 25), King Benjamin’s speech, and modern revelation. Discusses the role of the twelve Nephite apostles, the role of faith, and the conditions of salvation.
Roberts offers his thoughts on the origin and character of government, both in general and amongst the Children of Israel in the Old Testament.
Roberts offers his thoughts on the origin and character of government, both in general and amongst the Children of Israel in the Old Testament.
Roberts discusses the peculiarities of succession in the Nephite kingship, both in the land of Nephi and later in the land of Zarahemla, while also presenting a summary history of the governance of the people of Nephi up to the point of King Mosiah, the son of King Benjamin.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Roberts discusses the peculiarities of succession in the Nephite kingship, both in the land of Nephi and later in the land of Zarahemla, while also presenting a summary history of the governance of the people of Nephi up to the point of King Mosiah, the son of King Benjamin.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Roberts relates the reunion of the people of Zeniff and Alma the Elder with the Nephites at Zarahemla. He discusses the bloody revolutions throughout history and compares them to the peaceful “revolution” undertaken by King Mosiah at the end of his reign by changing the mode of government to what Robert characterizes as a “republic” under the reign of the judges. Some modes of operation of the new government are discussed.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Roberts relates the reunion of the people of Zeniff and Alma the Elder with the Nephites at Zarahemla. He discusses the bloody revolutions throughout history and compares them to the peaceful “revolution” undertaken by King Mosiah at the end of his reign by changing the mode of government to what Robert characterizes as a “republic” under the reign of the judges. Some modes of operation of the new government are discussed.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Roberts summarizes some of the work of Guizot regarding the relations between church and state. He classifies the Nephite Republic as most closely resembling one in which the church and state were distinct societies. He provides examples from the text to demonstrate this. He then summarizes the events of the Amlicite Revolt, the first severe trial the new republic faced, five years into its existence.
Roberts summarizes some of the work of Guizot regarding the relations between church and state. He classifies the Nephite Republic as most closely resembling one in which the church and state were distinct societies. He provides examples from the text to demonstrate this. He then summarizes the events of the Amlicite Revolt, the first severe trial the new republic faced, five years into its existence.
Roberts discusses Ammoron assuming the throne after the death of his brother, and his two-front war against the Nephites, both on the east and the west. The efforts of the Nephites in retaking their captured cities are detailed, especially that of Helaman and his army of stripling Lamanites in the west. The lack of support in terms of men and materiel from the Nephite government in Zarahemla is mentioned, as is the determination of Helaman and his men to hold out regardless.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Roberts discusses Ammoron assuming the throne after the death of his brother, and his two-front war against the Nephites, both on the east and the west. The efforts of the Nephites in retaking their captured cities are detailed, especially that of Helaman and his army of stripling Lamanites in the west. The lack of support in terms of men and materiel from the Nephite government in Zarahemla is mentioned, as is the determination of Helaman and his men to hold out regardless.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Roberts gives us a brief summary of the efforts of Alma the Younger and Amulek in Ammonihah, as well as the success of the sons of Mosiah in their missionary labors among the Lamanites. He details the persecution of the people of Ammon and their seeking refuge among the Nephites and the several wars of conquest attempted by the Lamanites in the following years. He mentions the childhood and upbringing of Captain Moroni during these conflicts and his victory over Zerahemnah.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Roberts gives us a brief summary of the efforts of Alma the Younger and Amulek in Ammonihah, as well as the success of the sons of Mosiah in their missionary labors among the Lamanites. He details the persecution of the people of Ammon and their seeking refuge among the Nephites and the several wars of conquest attempted by the Lamanites in the following years. He mentions the childhood and upbringing of Captain Moroni during these conflicts and his victory over Zerahemnah.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Roberts sets out Alma the Younger as one of the great exemplars of the scriptures, saying “there is scarcely any condition of life that Alma’s life will not instruct.” He discusses the demoralizing effect of war upon communities and details Amalickiah’s attempted rebellion amongst the Nephites, Captain Moroni’s response with the Title of Liberty, and Amalickiah’s flight and subsequent and unbelievable rise to the Lamanite throne.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Roberts sets out Alma the Younger as one of the great exemplars of the scriptures, saying “there is scarcely any condition of life that Alma’s life will not instruct.” He discusses the demoralizing effect of war upon communities and details Amalickiah’s attempted rebellion amongst the Nephites, Captain Moroni’s response with the Title of Liberty, and Amalickiah’s flight and subsequent and unbelievable rise to the Lamanite throne.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Roberts details how Captain Moroni both spiritually and physically fortified his people for the potential future conflicts with the Lamanites. The reversal of the Lamanites in trying to take the cities of Ammonihah and Noah is detailed. Roberts spends time discussing the physical characteristics of Moroni’s fortifications and speculates that fortifications in Ohio built centuries later may have taken inspiration from them.
Roberts details how Captain Moroni both spiritually and physically fortified his people for the potential future conflicts with the Lamanites. The reversal of the Lamanites in trying to take the cities of Ammonihah and Noah is detailed. Roberts spends time discussing the physical characteristics of Moroni’s fortifications and speculates that fortifications in Ohio built centuries later may have taken inspiration from them.
Roberts discusses the failed political attempts by “monarchists” among the Nephites to reform the government to a system more to their liking. The subsequent actions of Captain Moroni relevant to them are discussed, as is Moroni’s role appointed role as a “dictator” in the Roman tradition for the preservation of the people. Amalickiah’s series of successes, leading up to his ignominious assassination at the hands of Teancum is also discussed. Roberts offers brief insights as to how that action is sometimes perceived in modern times, against how it would have been understood anciently.
Roberts discusses the failed political attempts by “monarchists” among the Nephites to reform the government to a system more to their liking. The subsequent actions of Captain Moroni relevant to them are discussed, as is Moroni’s role appointed role as a “dictator” in the Roman tradition for the preservation of the people. Amalickiah’s series of successes, leading up to his ignominious assassination at the hands of Teancum is also discussed. Roberts offers brief insights as to how that action is sometimes perceived in modern times, against how it would have been understood anciently.
Roberts discusses Moroni’s epistle to Pahoran, accusing the latter of disloyalty and destruction if he did not live up to the obligations of his office. The revolution of Pachus and the monarchists is revealed in Pahoran’s response, and Moroni goes to the besieged chief judge’s aid, putting down the erstwhile rebellion. Roberts offers thoughts on the seeming harshness of the Nephites’ capital punishment of those who rebelled and would not take up arms in defense of their government and their people. Following the defeated insurrection, Moroni is able to send reinforcements to his beleaguered fellows.
Roberts discusses Moroni’s epistle to Pahoran, accusing the latter of disloyalty and destruction if he did not live up to the obligations of his office. The revolution of Pachus and the monarchists is revealed in Pahoran’s response, and Moroni goes to the besieged chief judge’s aid, putting down the erstwhile rebellion. Roberts offers thoughts on the seeming harshness of the Nephites’ capital punishment of those who rebelled and would not take up arms in defense of their government and their people. Following the defeated insurrection, Moroni is able to send reinforcements to his beleaguered fellows.
Roberts discusses the waning days of the war with the Lamanites, until Ammoron’s assassination by Teancum near the City of Moroni. The rebuilding process, both spiritual and physical, following the war is mentioned, as is the passing of its chief figures within a handful of years. Roberts discusses the impossibility of knowing a great deal about Captain Moroni, but compares him favorably to Washington. He concludes by stating that “[t]he fate of the Nephite Republic is a warning to all free governments…that the people of a republic—a free people—must be a righteous people or the days of their prosperity are numbered…”
Roberts discusses the waning days of the war with the Lamanites, until Ammoron’s assassination by Teancum near the City of Moroni. The rebuilding process, both spiritual and physical, following the war is mentioned, as is the passing of its chief figures within a handful of years. Roberts discusses the impossibility of knowing a great deal about Captain Moroni, but compares him favorably to Washington. He concludes by stating that “[t]he fate of the Nephite Republic is a warning to all free governments…that the people of a republic—a free people—must be a righteous people or the days of their prosperity are numbered…”
An account of the government and politics of the Nephites prior to and during the time of the Nephite republic as described in the book of Mosiah. Main emphasis is on Captain Moroni and his leadership.
The story of Alma the Younger’s conversion. Just before he died, he delivered to his sons Helaman, Shiblon, and Corianton his “commandments,” a father’s advice and admonitions. Each son is different, and therefore Alma’s advice was different for each of his sons.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
The story of Alma the Younger’s conversion. Just before he died, he delivered to his sons Helaman, Shiblon, and Corianton his “commandments,” a father’s advice and admonitions. Each son is different, and therefore Alma’s advice was different for each of his sons. The third part covers Corianton.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
The story of Alma the Younger’s conversion. Just before he died, he delivered to his sons Helaman, Shiblon, and Corianton his “commandments,” a father’s advice and admonitions. Each son is different, and therefore Alma’s advice was different for each of his sons. The fourth part concludes the discussion on Corianton.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
The story of Alma the Younger’s conversion. Just before he died, he delivered to his sons Helaman, Shiblon, and Corianton his “commandments,” a father’s advice and admonitions. Each son is different, and therefore Alma’s advice was different for each of his sons. The second part covers Shiblon.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Describes why the Book of Mormon is needed as a new witness for God.
Cessation of revelation is contrary to the teachings of Christ. There is a vast amount of archaeological evidence to prove there were ancient civilizations in pre-Columbian America. The Christian theme known in ancient American mythology, symbols, and traditions suggests that God dealt with the western world the same as the eastern. The Book of Mormon reveals the story of these ancient people. Book of Mormon prophecies are being fulfilled; they bear witness of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon.
Bible passages are used to show that revelation from God has not ceased, that prophecy continues in modern times, and that the Book of Mormon is a new witness for Jesus Christ brought forth through this modern revelation. Bible passages that have been used to cast doubt on the Book of Mormon are explained and the arguments refuted.
Bible passages are used to refute the belief that the Bible contains all the revelation God has ever given to man.
Discusses the experiences of the Catholic priests who accompanied Cortez on his expedition to the Americas and conquest of the Aztecs. They discovered the Native American traditions and myths to be similar to their own traditions and rites of worship.
A discussion of prophecies in the Book of Mormon that have been fulfilled including those concerning the Three Witnesses, the Christian claim that there can be no more Bible, the words of Charles Anthon, and the martyrdom of some of its witnesses.
The Book of Mormon story of Lehi’s flight from Jerusalem to the western hemisphere explains the origin of the Native American people and their traditions and rites that are similar to Christian traditions and religious rites.
A discussion of the origin of the Book of Mormon. It is an abridgment by Mormon from many other writings of ancient prophets and was hidden by Moroni in the Hill Cumorah; its location was revealed to Joseph Smith and he translated and published the book.
An explanation of why Joseph Smith never displayed the golden plates for public view to prove their authenticity. The Lord works by faith and establishes truth through the testimony of witnesses. Includes the testimonies and stories of the Three Witnesses and Eight Witnesses.
Argues against the Solomon Spaulding theory for the origin of the Book of Mormon and the idea that Sidney Rigdon wrote the Book of Mormon.
A review of the prophecies concerning the Book of Mormon, the evidence of its authenticity, and the author’s testimony to its truthfulness.
A review of the prophecies concerning the Book of Mormon, the evidence of its authenticity, and the author’s testimony to its truthfulness.
A review of the prophecies concerning the Book of Mormon, the evidence of its authenticity, and the author’s testimony to its truthfulness.
Describes why the Book of Mormon is needed as a new witness for God. Bible passages are used to show that revelation from God has not ceased, that prophecy continues in modern times, and that the Book of Mormon is a new witness for Jesus Christ brought forth through this modern revelation. Bible passages that have been used to cast doubt on the Book of Mormon are explained and the arguments refuted.
Describes why the Book of Mormon is needed as a new witness for God. Bible passages are used to show that revelation from God has not ceased, that prophecy continues in modern times, and that the Book of Mormon is a new witness for Jesus Christ brought forth through this modern revelation. Bible passages that have been used to cast doubt on the Book of Mormon are explained and the arguments refuted.
Bible passages are used to refute the belief that the Bible contains all the revelation God has ever given to man. Discusses the experiences of the Catholic priests who accompanied Cortez on his expedition to the Americas and conquest of the Aztecs. They discovered the Native American traditions and myths to be similar to their own traditions and rites of worship.
Bible passages are used to refute the belief that the Bible contains all the revelation God has ever given to man. Discusses the experiences of the Catholic priests who accompanied Cortez on his expedition to the Americas and conquest of the Aztecs. They discovered the Native American traditions and myths to be similar to their own traditions and rites of worship.
A discussion of prophecies in the Book of Mormon that have been fulfilled including those concerning the Three Witnesses, the Christian claim that there can be no more Bible, the words of Charles Anthon, and the martyrdom of some of its witnesses.
A discussion of prophecies in the Book of Mormon that have been fulfilled including those concerning the Three Witnesses, the Christian claim that there can be no more Bible, the words of Charles Anthon, and the martyrdom of some of its witnesses.
The Book of Mormon story of Lehi’s flight from Jerusalem to the western hemisphere explains the origin of the native American people and their traditions and rites that are similar to Christian traditions and religious rites.
The Book of Mormon story of Lehi’s flight from Jerusalem to the western hemisphere explains the origin of the native American people and their traditions and rites that are similar to Christian traditions and religious rites.
A discussion of the origin of the Book of Mormon. It is an abridgment by Mormon from many other writings of ancient prophets and was hidden by Moroni in the Hill Cumorah; its location was revealed to Joseph Smith and he translated and published the book. An explanation of why Joseph Smith never displayed the golden plates for public view to prove their authenticity. The Lord works by faith and establishes truth through the testimony of witnesses. Includes the testimonies and stories of the Three Witnesses and Eight Witnesses.
A discussion of the origin of the Book of Mormon. It is an abridgment by Mormon from many other writings of ancient prophets and was hidden by Moroni in the Hill Cumorah; its location was revealed to Joseph Smith and he translated and published the book. An explanation of why Joseph Smith never displayed the golden plates for public view to prove their authenticity. The Lord works by faith and establishes truth through the testimony of witnesses. Includes the testimonies and stories of the Three Witnesses and Eight Witnesses.
Argues against the Solomon Spaulding theory for the origin of the Book of Mormon and the idea that Sidney Rigdon wrote the Book of Mormon.
Argues against the Solomon Spaulding theory for the origin of the Book of Mormon and the idea that Sidney Rigdon wrote the Book of Mormon.
Extensive treatise on Joseph Smith as a witness for God, the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, Book of Mormon lands, peoples, government, evidences of the truth of the Book of Mormon, the Three Witnesses, philosophical considerations, and many other subjects advanced as secondary evidences in support of the truth of the Book of Mormon.
This article is an answer to the criticism that certain chapters of Isaiah were written after Lehi’s departure from Jerusalem and thus could not have been included in the Book of Mormon.
2 Nephi 2:24-25 constitutes a great message to the world. The only way to obtain perfect wisdom is from perfect knowledge.
See also Roberts’s Defense of the Faith and the Saints, that stated the theory that Spaulding’s Manuscript Found was the source from which the Book of Mormon originated.
This article shows that the Book of Mormon is original in its thoughts and ideas and is not the thoughts or philosophy of Joseph Smith and his associates. The first part the doctrine of truth, the doctrine of opposite existences, and the agency of man.
This article shows that the Book of Mormon is original in its thoughts and ideas and is not the thoughts or philosophy of Joseph Smith and his associates. The second part discusses the Fall of Adam and the purpose of man’s existence.
presented in “A Book of Mormon Study” (1922).
Alma says that after the resurrection there is no dissolution that takes place, but spirit and body become inseparably united into one spiritual personage, spirit predominating, and that is why the revelations say, “Man is spirit”
The Hill Cumorah was recently purchased by the Church. Mormon hid all the records he had (Mormon 6:6), except the abridgment that he gave to his son Moroni. Some say that Moroni wandered from the Hill Ramah-Cumorah before depositing the records.
First published as The Redeemed Hebrew, 1926. A message to all Jews that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, and that a new witness to these truths has been brought forth. The Book of Mormon brings knowledge of Christ in the New World as it discusses the signs of his birth and death. The divinity of Christ is proclaimed in the Book of Mormon. The testimony of the Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses is given to prove that Joseph Smith had the ancient American record.
A discourse proposing that disbelief in gospel truths and miracles is not unique to the latter days. The Book of Mormon verifies that Christ existed pre-mortally and testifies of the reality of his birth, death, resurrection, and divinity.
This article discusses the meaning of the word “isle” as contained in biblical and Book of Mormon geography. Roberts agrees with Mansfield that Jacob’s reference to the lands of the Book of Mormon as an “isle of the sea” means a body of land (however large) reached by crossing an ocean.
Reproduction of parts of B. H. Roberts’s 1922 typescript work “A Book of Mormon Study” It is heavily edited to focus on Roberts’s questions and concerns about the Book of Mormon, not his answers nor his testimony.
Contains seven lessons on the Book of Mormon. Discusses the visitation of Moroni, and the translation and publication of the book. Includes an analysis of the contents, the purpose, and value of the Book of Mormon.
Reprinted as “First Christmas on Western Hemisphere” Deseret News Church Section (23 December 1939): 1, 8. Retells the story of Samuel the Lamanite’s prophecy to the Nephite people of the signs that would occur at Christ’s birth in the Western Hemisphere.
States that the Book of Mormon is invaluable in expounding one’s understanding of God’s justice, mercy, doctrine and plan of salvation; applying such knowledge builds character.
Uses the Bible and historical records to answer alleged contradictions contained in the Book of Mormon regarding Christ being born at Jerusalem, the date of Christ’s birth, and the three days of darkness that covered the earth at his crucifixion.
Describes the uplifting, enlightening, and inspirational aspects of the Book of Mormon.
Describes the uplifting, enlightening, and inspirational aspects of the Book of Mormon.
Fictional story, set in the time of Nephi, son of Helaman, in which the characters watch for signs of Christ’s birth and receive great joy.
Fictional story, set in the time of Nephi, son of Helaman, in which the characters watch for signs of Christ’s birth and receive great joy.
Suggests that the reader remember that the Book of Mormon is an abridgment of records of a more extensive nature. The first one hundred fifty-seven pages, however, are the writings of Nephi and were inserted just as they came from the hand of Nephi and those kings who followed him. The latter part of the book was the work of Moroni, Mormon’s son. The book must be read with real desire and a prayerful heart. The Holy Ghost will attend and confirm the divine origin of the book, but not in an imposing way—the reader must ask.
A discussion of the value of the Book of Mormon, from its aphorisms to its powerful testimony of Jesus Christ and his resurrection.
Roberts defends his theory about the role that the Urim and Thummim and Joseph Smith played in translating the Book of Mormon. He shows that literal translations are difficult or impossible in similar languages, and points out that it would be even harder from the Egyptian-like language of Mormon’s plates.
Roberts defends his theory about the role that the Urim and Thummim and Joseph Smith played in translating the Book of Mormon. He shows that literal translations are difficult or impossible in similar languages, and points out that it would be even harder from the Egyptian-like language of Mormon’s plates.
Talks about the role of witnesses. God gave the same commission to the Book of Mormon witnesses in the new dispensation as he did to the ancient witnesses.
God the Eternal Father and his son Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith in a vision. The Book of Mormon, a new volume of scripture, was revealed. Three Witnesses testified that an angel showed them the original plates.
Nephi had great visions concerning the life and the mission of Christ. He saw that other books would come forth—the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price—to establish the truth of the record of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb of God.
Joseph Smith had great courage in declaring that many would believe in the Book of Mormon. In the face of loneliness and persecution he dared to translate the Nephite record. The numerical count of those who believe its words is a fulfillment of this prophecy.
Refers to the Book of Mormon as the record of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim that supplies the world with a new witness for Christ and the fullness of the gospel.
Discusses the mission of the United States of America as a promised land, the decrees of God concerning the land of Zion, and predictions of calamities if it fails God as an instrument in the accomplishment of his high purposes. The gentile nation is to be a nursing father and mother to the remnants of Israel.
Answers the question that a little boy asked, “Why are people?” It cannot be answered in the Old or in the New Testament The Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 2:24-25) teaches the purpose of God in the creation.
Discusses the purpose of the Book of Mormon as stated on the title page: “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God.” God brought forth the Book of Mormon, which is being called the American scripture. At the time it came forth, the Christian world believed in the divinity of Christ and did not need such a statement, but there are many in the Christian world who now need a testimony and witness that Jesus Christ is God.
Discusses the messages of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon tells of the visit of the Redeemer to the inhabitants of the western world. It predicts the rise of the great Gentile nation—the United States of America. The Book of Mormon is a new witness for God and Christ and the truth of the gospel.
Moroni warns that anyone who should possess the land of promise must serve God or be swept off (Ether 2:9-12).
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Gives examples of truths the world would have lost if the Book of Mormon had not been brought forth (Alma 41:10; 2 Nephi 2:24-25; 1 Nephi 3:7; Ether 12:26-27). The Book of Mormon corrects some errors in the philosophies and religions of men.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 2 Nephi
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
The United States of America is a choice land. There are two great prophecies in the Book of Mormon: it is a witness of the divinity of Christ, and it gives prophecies concerning the great gentile nation. If the Gentiles sin against the gospel, it shall be taken from among them. But if they will repent, they shall be numbered among his people.
A guide for teaching children the Book of Mormon by using pictures and illustrations.
Literary authorship analysis using stylometry and wordprints. Several contributors to the Book of Mormon were examined Mormon, Nephi, Alma the Younger, Moroni, Jesus Christ, Jacob, and Isaiah. The 1830 edition was used. The conclusion is that the “results give every indication that there are multiple authors in the Book of Mormon”
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
The founder of the True Church of Jesus Christ Restored claims to have had visitations of Nephi and Elijah.
The leader of the True Church of Jesus Christ Restored adapts this pamphlet on the contents and prophetic nature of the Book of Mormon from the series Rays of Living Light
Music is a language that speaks to everyone. Its healing power is expressed by people in every country in the world. Whether we listen to music in church, at home, or in the concert hall, we do it to feel better about our circumstances.
A guide for teaching children the Book of Mormon by using pictures and illustrations.
Maintains that the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon should be judged upon its moral teachings, not historical and geographical teachings. Robertson shows that the Book of Mormon teaches individuals to follow the will of God, remember him in prayer, obey his Son, honor one’s father and mother, love one’s family, care for the poor, and to regard one’s fellow as an equal.
A study guide (instructional aid) that attempts to make the reader an expert on the Book of Mormon. The guide includes three parts—memorization of the basic contents of each chapter in the Book of Mormon, memorization of the reader’s fifty favorite scriptures, and knowledge of important verses about Jesus Christ.
Transcript of an address made January 7, 1901. Condemns “Mormans,” but describes the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the stone box that held the treasures.
Examples of how archaeological study may add to the “store of knowledge” and Book of Mormon study.
Review of Come unto Christ: The Conversion of Alma the Younger (1999), by Merrill Jenson, with text compiled by Betsy Jenson
A report of Professor Chad H. Robinson’s lecture on the ancient American races. At a Salt Lake City theatre he displayed five mummified Olmec people that were discovered in Arizona. These mummies are of a white race that existed in ancient America. The article describes the discovery of manuscripts and artifacts in Central and South America that support the Book of Mormon.
The Lord has preserved the scriptures for the inspiration and instruction of his children. This divine preservation is particularly evident in the Book of Mormon. The Nephite prophets tell of the importance of the brass plates and the records they kept. We show appreciation by reading their records.
A fictionalized play (based on Ether 8-9) characterizing Omer, Akish, Jared, Zalmonah (Jared’s daughter), and the struggle for the Jaredite throne. Comprises a prologue and four acts.
Focuses on Lehi’s speech to his household—the historical setting, Lehi’s covenant and prophecy. Adds some notes on archaeological evidence and the achievements of the Mayans.
Identified as a “synchronic, chronological study of the Book of Mormon” Contains historical highlights, illustrations, notes, and comments.
It must not be supposed that the Book of Mormon people had the Melchizedek Priesthood before Christ. The Mosaic law was regulated under the Aaronic priesthood, there is no evidence that the law was practiced under Melchizedek Priesthood authority and that sacrificial offerings were performed by other than Aaronic priesthood holders. Alma speaks of the priesthood after the Order of the Son of God in past tense language.
The time system in the Book of Mormon was based upon astronomical observations. Many of these observations are found within the book itself. The primitive inhabitants of Mesoamerica possessed a knowledge of astrology on which their dating system was based.
Describes how two herbs—cascara sagrade and quinine—have helped current civilization. He sees this as a contribution made by the descendants of Book of Mormon peoples.
Argues that nobody held the Melchizedek Priesthood after Moses until John the Baptist (JST Exodus 34:1, and D&C 83:4). Thus, Book of Mormon prophets before Christ’s coming did not hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, only the Aaronic Priesthood. The twelve whom Christ set apart to minister on the American Continent were disciples, not apostles, and acted under the authority of the twelve apostles in Jerusalem.
It has been more than a century since the Book of Mormon was published. It has been published in sixteen languages. Archaeological evidences support the Book of Mormon.
The Mayan Indians achieved advanced scientific achievements in mathematics, astronomy, and with their calendar system. Robinson quotes Book of Mormon passages to show that Book of Mormon peoples possessed the same skills. He defends the 600 B.C. departure date of Lehi against the assertion that 613 b.c. was the Mayan calendar’s starting date.
Likens the Gadianton robbers to modern organized crime. Claims that the “author and founder” of the Gadianton robbers is Satan.
The Lord’s Church was organized from the very time that Lehi landed on the western shores of America and built a temple.
It was the intention of the Prophet to make the Inspired Version of the New Testament and the Book of Mormon available to all the world. This work was accomplished in 1895 by the RLDS church in fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 29.
RSC Topics > A — C > Apostasy
In this paper I intend to deal primarily with the element of deception in the production and employment of apocryphal literature, particularly as it is revealed by the devices of pseudonymity and pseudepigraphy. I am defining pseudonymity here as an author’s intentional adoption of another persona, not merely as a pen name but as an assumed identity. Thus the Testament of Solomon is pseudonymous because the author has clearly adopted the persona of Solomon and speaks, as Solomon, in the first person. On the other hand, Huckleberry Finn would not be pseudonymous by my definition even though Samuel Clemens used the nom de plume Mark Twain, because Clemens did not adopt a persona other than his own; that is, we may assume that Clemens did not return royalty checks made out to Mark Twain, but rather cashed them unashamedly. Sam Clemens was Mark Twain, and there was no real possibility of confusing one person for the other.
Book of Moses Topics > Basic Resources > Surveys and Perspectives on Ancient Sources from Outside the Bible
In 1 Nephi 13–14, Nephi describes major characteristics of the great and abominable church: it persecutes and slays the Saints of God; it seeks wealth and luxury; it is characterized by sexual immortality; it has excised plain and precious things from the scriptures; it has dominion over all the earth; and its fate is destruction by a world war. Nephi’s vision, known as an apocalyptic vision in biblical literature, corresponds well to features of Babylon as described in the apocalyptic Revelation of John (Revelation 17). Clearly, the earliest apostate church and the great and abominable church are the same. A suggested description for this phenomenon, avoiding a denominational name, is hellenized Christianity.
The Salt Lake Tabernacle held the North American record for the widest unsupported interior space at its completion in 1867. Finished two years before the arrival of the railroad, it was constructed primarily of local stone, timber, and adobe. One of a long succession of buildings constructed to permit members of the Mormon faith to hear from their prophet, the Tabernacle accommodated over thirteen thousand people. A recent seismic upgrade provided a unique opportunity to view details of the historic building. Construction challenges, acoustics, the development of the organ, and subsequent alterations and upgrades are amply illustrated, providing a complete story of this magnificent edifice. Early meetings in the Mormon faith were held in private homes or outdoors. The first buildings constructed by the Church, the Kirtland and Nauvoo Temples, were multipurpose buildings that were woefully inadequate to accommodate the growing number of Saints. After arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young decided to construct a hall where thousands could attend services. The Salt Lake Tabernacle is a bold and daring building, setting a North American record for an unsupported interior span. Developed from bridge trusses, the building was frankly modern in the way it eschewed traditional ornamentation and styles and clearly expressed its form on the exterior. Brigham Young relied upon bridge builder Henry Grow and architects William Folsom and Truman O. Angell to realize the unprecedented structure. Grow tested the truss capacity with scale models and oversaw the construction of the lofty trusses. Folsom developed the initial plans, but then Angell worked out the details of the stand, seating, and gallery. Together they created an audience hall that seated approximately thirteen thousand and held as many as fifteen thousand with congregants standing in the aisles. The recent seismic upgrade of the building provided an opportunity to view many original details and finishes that were long hidden underneath later layers and additions. The upgrade allows the building to be of service continuing into the next century. Built from local materials and volunteer labor before the railroad arrived in the Great Basin, the Tabernacle stands as a witness to the collective sacrifice made by members of the Mormon faith. Driven from homes and disavowed by families, these early Saints made the arduous trek to the West to follow a prophet, and this remarkable building made it possible for many thousands of them to gather as one under a single roof.
Economic systems are distinguished by their emphasis on equity and efficiency. Market controls are justified because of the need for equity. Free markets are justified because of the need for private incentives and efficiency. Most countries of the world today have adopted a combination of controls and free-market incentives. The Book of Mormon teaches that only through caring can equity and efficiency be simultaneously achieved.
One way that those who love God and others demonstrate their love and “at-one-ment” (the state of being one) and thereby qualify for blessings, is by imparting of their substance to the poor. When a people become of one heart and mind, there are no poor among them. The Book of Mormon describes two stages of at-one-ment that lead to a general economic equality: Complete at-one-ment (perfect observation of the laws resulting in no contentions or disputations with “all things common among them” 4 Nephi 1:3), and at-one-ment as evidenced by equality before the law (the ability to form and be governed by equitable and just laws wherein all status and social discrimination is eliminated). The love of riches and status increases divisions and separations among the people and brings poverty and iniquity.
An illustrated storybook for children. Features an account of Abinadi, his preaching, and eventual martyrdom.
A fictional account of Alma1 who fled the presence of King Noah and followed the prophet Abinadi.
A retelling of how Limhi, one of the sons of King Noah, determined to do right against all odds.
Robinson wishes to tell “the tragic story of the Maya Lamanite who was forsaken by the Lord. It tells of his past, his present, his future, and [the Latter-day Saints’] obligation to this neglected branch of Lehi’s family. It is a true story gleaned from historical, archaeological, and sociological facts, and is woven in and around the Book of Mormon narrative” Includes two fold-out maps.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
This article by Rebecca A. Roesler discusses the significance of Nephi’s small plates in the Book of Mormon. Roesler examines the text of the Book of Mormon in order to “establish that scriptural texts can…exhibit variation in spiritual understanding” and that such variation can be insightful. She does not comment on the historicity or divinity of the text, but seeks to present “a literary case that, sometime in the generations before Alma, the small plates of Nephi and the teachings thereon are lost or obscured from view.” [quotes from author]
This volume celebrates the bicentennial of Joseph Smith’s 1820 First Vision of the Father and the Son, a founding event in the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ. Contributors examine the various accounts of the vision, the religious excitement prevalent in the region, the question that prompted Joseph to enter the grove, the powers of darkness that assailed him, and the natural environment and ultimate preservation of the Sacred Grove. This volume brings together some of the finest presentations from a 2020 BYU Church History Symposium honoring the bicentennial of the First Vision. ISBN 978-1-9503-0408-0
Articles
The purpose of this piece is to review the long-distance genetic linguistic relationship between languages of the Afro-Asiatic language family and the Uto-Aztecan language family suggested in Stubbs’s Exploring the Explanatory Power of Semitic and Egyptian in Uto-Aztecan and Changes in Languages from Nephi to Now. While such a suggestion is not novel, a linguistic connection between the New World and the Old World is especially appealing to readers of the Book of Mormon. Such a connection can potentially provide a way to determine specific cultural and social facts about the peoples and civilizations described throughout the Book of Mormon. Nevertheless, when not established by rigorous methods and scientific principles, such proposals lead to the incorrect identification of genetic linguistic relationships and unfounded extra-linguistic conclusions.
Hopeful and heartbreaking, sobering and exultant. A Call to Russia captures missionary life as experienced by a mission president, his wife and daughter, and the sisters and elders who served under him. But above all, this book is an invitation to reflect upon our own lives. Some glimpses from President Rogers: “Every morning Merriam still wakes up and asks, ‘Where am I?’ while I shake off the night’s slumber and involuntarily ask, ‘Who am I?’” “Our senior district president recently asked me, ‘What are your greatest impressions since coming here?’ I answered, ‘Faith and love. Love and faith.’ And the way things seem to fall apart on at least a weekly basis before they’re somehow put back together.” “In our quest to see God’s face, what most matters in mortality is how we face one another—with what patience, tenderness, mercy, and good humor.” “Another great blessing—a mission makes us more aware than otherwise of our personal inadequacies.” “A friend wrote me, ‘You’ve certainly changed.’ It’s good others can see how the gospel has indeed changed us—how we have repented. As a great assistant to the president put it, ‘The best missionary is a repenting missionary.’” “We all confront, all the time, a choice between two paths. One is higher, with steeper terrain, where you often strain to catch your breath or to reach a handhold. The other lies well below it and tends if anything toward a gradual and easy descent.”
This second of two volumes of essays honoring Hugh Nibley includes scholarly papers based on what the authors have learned from Nibley. Nearly every major subject that Dr. Nibley has encompassed in his vast learning and scholarly production is represented here by at least one article. Topics include the sacrament covenant in Third Nephi, the Lamanite view of Book of Mormon history, external evidences of the Book of Mormon, proper names in the Book of Mormon, the brass plates version of Genesis, the composition of Lehi’s family, ancient burials of metal documents in stone boxes, repentance as rethinking, Mormon history’s encounter with secular modernity, and Judaism in the 20th century.
This paper first lists a number of personal experiences which are mentioned but not unduly emphasized in Donna Hill’s biography and which, taken together, appear to have been more than coincidental influences on the formulation of Latter-day Saint doctrine and Church practices.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Hugh Nibley > Scholarship, Footnotes, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, CWHN, Editing > Joseph Smith
A polemic against the LDS church. Declares the Book of Mormon to be a plagiarized version of the Spaulding manuscript.
Includes some 2000 scriptural quotations from the LDS canon arranged according to topic. Topics include the Holy Trinity, man’s pre- existing relationship with God, Satan and his work, the fall of man, free agency, the Atonement, apostasy from and restoration of the gospel, the Book of Mormon, continuous revelation, priesthood, missionary work, gospel principles and ordinances, the gathering of Zion, and the Second Coming of Christ.
The sword of Laban plays a prominent role in the Book of Mormon narrative as a Nephite national treasure. Scholarly analysis of this regal heirloom has primarily concentrated upon its physical construction in relation to ancient Near Eastern metallurgical technology. However, when examined within the cultural milieu of the ancient world, along with data from church history, the scriptures, and Jewish tradition, the sword of Laban takes on new significance. Though the Book of Mormon reveals that the sword of Laban served as an ancestral and hereditary sword of the ancient Nephite prophets, evidence suggests that the weapon may have been the birthright sword of biblical tradition, a sacred heirloom that may have been wielded by the patriarchs up until the time of Joseph of Egypt. Laban, being a descendant of Joseph, inherited the birthright sword and the plates of brass, both treasures eventually coming into the possession of Nephi, who was both a prophet and a descendant of Joseph, as was Joseph Smith Jr.
Ronald Romig, archivist for the RLDS Church (now renamed the Community of Christ), played a significant role in Royal Skousen’s critical text project. Romig was responsible for overseeing the handling of the printer’s manuscript of the Book of Mormon, which was made available on two different occasions for Skousen to examine for his research. Skousen also examined over twenty copies of the first edition of the Book of Mormon belonging to the Community of Christ. Romig explains his responsibilities and the process of assisting Skousen in the project and also mentions how Skousen’s work has improved the relationship between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints and the Community of Christ.
Many external evidences of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon are presented—the horse, cement, paved streets, pyramids. The pamphlet seems to accompany a slide presentation presented by Rey L. Pratt. There are 47 items of archaeological evidence described.
In God’s economy, America is now and has always been a choice and favored land. God has decreed for her a final, great, and glorious destiny.
The Lamanites are promised that the covenants made to their fathers will be fulfilled, that a remnant would receive the Book of Mormon, and would associate with other members of the house of Israel in the building of their inheritance in the land of America.
The Lamanites are promised that the covenants made to their fathers will be fulfilled, that a remnant would receive the Book of Mormon, and would associate with other members of the house of Israel in the building of their inheritance in the land of America.
This article testifies that the Book of Mormon is the promised sign that the work of the Lord has begun among all nations. “We may draw a lesson from the history of the Mexican people and their progenitors,” as it is outlined in the Book of Mormon.
Reprinted in Book of Mormon Talks by General Authorities, 205. Provo, UT: FARMS, 1990. Shows that the Book of Mormon teaches faith, courage, and how to receive a forgiveness of sins.
Shows that the Book of Mormon teaches faith, courage, and how to receive a forgiveness of sins.
Shows that the Book of Mormon teaches faith, courage, and how to receive a forgiveness of sins.
This article encourages Church members to read the Book of Mormon because the book will fill the reader’s mind with “the waters of life,” remind him/her of spiritual truths, bring great blessings into the home, cause children and parents to respect once another, and arm the reader against the faulty teachings of the world.
This article reaffirms that the purpose of the Book of Mormon is to bear witness of Jesus Christ.
Tells that the Book of Mormon is the keystone of the LDS religion, and that Church members need to become familiar with its teachings.
This article testifies that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer to all the world’s problems. We can “look to God and live” (Alma 37:47). Alma knew the consequences of running counter to that advice. There are three requisites for looking to God: a true knowledge of God, a knowledge of his commandments, and obedience to the commandments.
A tract prepared for full-time missionaries that argues that the “Book of Mormon is the most effective piece of missionary literature we have”
Acceptance of the Book of Mormon requires acceptance of modern revelation and Joseph Smith as a prophet of God. The Church received its name from Jesus Christ, as he said in 3 Nephi 27 and D&C 115:3-4.
This article states that acceptance of the Book of Mormon requires acceptance of modern revelation and Joseph Smith as a prophet of God. The Church received its name from Jesus Christ, as he said in 3 Nephi 27 and D&C 115:3-4.
Discusses the establishment of Zion on the American Continent. The descendants of Joseph, through the lineage of Lehi, will be the builders of Zion with the assistance of the Gentiles. Several Book of Mormon scriptures show the role of the Lamanites in building Zion.
Discusses the establishment of Zion on the American Continent. The descendants of Joseph, through the lineage of Lehi, will be the builders of Zion with the assistance of the Gentiles. Several Book of Mormon scriptures show the role of the Lamanites in building Zion.
The Book of Mormon is one of the four standard scriptural works of the Church. It was translated by Joseph Smith, is the “keystone of our religion,” and the world will be judged by its contents.
A play based upon Book of Mormon characters and situations.
Typewritten statement by an Oberlin College librarian concerning the Spaulding manuscript in Oberlin’s possession.
In a letter to his son Moroni, Mormon warns against the practice of baptizing little children. He identifies two false assumptions of his day used to justify infant baptism: little children are born with sin (see Moroni 8:8) and will suffer divine punishment in hell if they die without having been baptized (see Moroni 8:13). While the exact nature of this aberrant practice is unknown, it was apparently common enough among the Nephites of Mormon’s day to warrant swift and unequivocal prophetic censure. Mormon describes the rite as particularly wicked and erroneous in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Critics of the Book of Mormon often cite genetic evidence in their attacks on the historicity of the text, saying that the lack of any Near Eastern–American Indian DNA links conclusively proves that no emigration ever occurred from the Near East to the Americas. Their simplistic approach—that the Book of Mormon purports to be a history of the entire American Indian race—is not supported by archaeological or Book of Mormon evidence. The authors pose and respond to questions about the geographical scene, the spread of Book of Mormon peoples, Latter-day Saint traditions about the scenes and peoples of the Book of Mormon, the terms Nephites and Lamanites, the possible presence of others in the land, ocean travel, Mesoamerican native traditions, languages of the Western Hemisphere, Old World peoples coming to the Americas, archaeological evidence, and ethnically distinct populations in ancient American art. These questions set out the social, cultural, and geographical contexts that are necessary for geneticists to understand before reaching major conclusions.
Review of Answering Mormon Scholars: A Response to Criticism of the Book “Coving Up the Black Hole in the Book of Mormon” (1994), by Jerald and Sandra Tanner.
Questions relating to archaeology and the Book of Mormon can sometimes pose challenges to readers. On the one hand critics sometimes frame the evidence as one that is almost entirely hostile to the belief that the Book may be an authentic historical record. On the other hand, Latter-day Saints may sometimes entertain unrealistic expectations about what archaeological information can or cannot say about the text. In this presentation I will discuss several challenges that archaeologists face in addressing questions about the archaeology of animal and human remains, ancient weapons, metals, chariots, and lost scripts. An understanding of these challenges can help us to correct mistaken assumptions, adjust our expectations, and provide clearer perspectives as we seek for better information as well as answers.
In recent years, a large number of ancient writings have been found in and around Israel. While many of these include names found in the Bible and other ancient texts, others were previously unattested in written sources. Some of these previously unattested names, though unknown in the Bible, are found in the Book of Mormon. The discovery of these Hebrew names in ancient inscriptions provides remarkable evidence for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon and provides clear refutation of those critics who would place its origin in nineteenth-century America. This article explores several Book of Mormon proper names that are attested from Hebrew inscriptions. Names included are Sariah, Alma, Abish, Aha, Ammonihah, Chemish, Hagoth, Himni, Isabel, Jarom, Josh, Luram, Mathoni, Mathonihah, Muloki, and Sam—none of which appear in English Bibles.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Swords are an important weapon in the Book of Mormon narrative. The prophet Ether reported that in the final battle of the Jaredites, King Coriantumr, with his sword, “smote off the head” of his relentless enemy Shiz (Ether 15:30). Swords were also used by the earliest Nephites (2 Nephi 5:14) and were among the deadly weapons with which that people were finally “hewn down” at Cumorah by their enemies (Mormon 6:9–10). While the text suggests that some Jaredites and early Nephites may have had metal weaponry (1 Nephi 4:9; 2 Nephi 5:14; Mosiah 8:10–11; Ether 7:9), references to metal weapons, including metal swords, are rare.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 2 Nephi
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mosiah
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Critics of the Book of Mormon frequently claim that some of the Book of Mormon witnesses later doubted or denied their testimony of the Book of Mormon. They also claim that the activities of the Three Witnesses while out of the church cast doubt upon the reliability of their earlier written testimony. I review evidence for these claims and also discuss the issue of what may constitute a witness of the Book of Mormon and whether the witnesses ever doubted or denied their testimony of the Book of Mormon. Evidence for later disbelief in the Book of Mormon by the witnesses is unpersuasive. I detail several miscellaneous issues relating to Jerald and Sandra Tanner’s criticisms of the Book of Mormon.
Sometime after the death of his father Jacob, Enos wrote that the Nephites raised “flocks of herds, and flocks of all manner of cattle of every kind, and goats, and wild goats” (Enos 1:21). While contemporary archaeology thus far has not yielded evidence of pre-Columbian goats, anthropologist John L. Sorenson has suggested that Book of Mormon peoples, like the Spanish writers of a later time, may have considered some species of pre-Columbian deer to be a kind of goat.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Enos
Articles from early newspapers and other publications give rare insights into the way in which the original audience of the Book of Mormon, both believers and critics, viewed the document. A large-scale collection of these documents was not initiated until the 1930s by Francis Kirkham, with encouragement from President George Albert Smith. Kirkham later published his collection in two volumes. His work, while extensive, was not exhaustive. The 19th-Century Publications about the Book of Mormon (1829–1844), a project partnered by the Maxwell Institute and the Harold B. Lee Library, builds off of Kirkham’s original research and seeks to preserve every extant published text discussing the Book of Mormon. The collection includes more than six hundred publications related to the Book of Mormon—almost one million words of text.
Review of Stan Larson. Quest for the Gold Plates: Thomas Stuart Ferguson’s Archaeological Search for the Book of Mormon.
Spanish chroniclers describe the use of various swords, including the macuahuitl, in Mesoamerican culture. The macuahuitl may fit the criteria for a Book of Mormon “sword.”
In abridging the account of the Nephite gathering under King Benjamin, Mormon stated, “And they also took of the firstlings of their flocks, that they might offer sacrifice and burnt offerings according to the law of Moses” (Mosiah 2:3). Under Mosaic law, first-lings, or firstborn animals, were dedicated to the Lord, meaning they were given to the priests, who were to sacrifice them and consume the flesh (see Exodus 13:12–15; Numbers 18:17). The exception to this rule was the firstborn lambs used for the Passover meal, which all Israel was to eat (see Exodus 12:5–7).
In 1838 a group of Latter-day Sints passed through Randolph County, Missouri, on their way to join the Sains at Far West. A journal entry by Samuel D. Tyler, a member of the church who traveled with this group, has led some students of the Book of Mormon to conclude that the Prophet Joseph Smith revealed the location of the ancient city of Manti spoken of in the Book of Mormon. A careful examination of the Tyler journal an dother historical sources suggests that this conclusion is unwarranted.
LDS Researcher Matt Roper explains some criticisms of the Book of Mormon which have since turned into evidences for the Book of Mormon.
Review of Covering Up the Black Hole in the Book of Mormon (1990), by Jerald and Sandra Tanner.
Abstract: The claim that God revealed the details of Book of Mormon geography is not new, but the recent argument that there was a conspiracy while the Prophet was still alive to oppose a revealed geography is a novel innovation. A recent theory argues that the “Mesoamerican theory” or “limited Mesoamerican geography” originated in 1841 with Benjamin Winchester, an early Mormon missionary, writer, and dissident, who rejected the leadership of Brigham Young and the Twelve after 1844. This theory also claims that three unsigned editorials on Central America and the Book of Mormon published in the Times and Seasons on September 15 and October 1, 1842, were written by Benjamin Winchester, who successfully conspired with other dissidents to publish them against the will of the Prophet. Three articles address these claims. The first article addressed two questions: Did Joseph Smith, as some have claimed, know the details of and put forth a revealed Book of Mormon geography? Second, what is a Mesoamerican geography and does it constitute a believable motive for a proposed Winchester conspiracy? This second article provides additional historical background on the question of Joseph Smith’s thinking on the Book of Mormon by examining the influence of John L. Stephen’s 1841 work, Incidents of Travel in Central America, upon early Latter-day Saints, including Joseph Smith.
Review of Bruce H. Porter and Rod L. Meldrum. Prophecies and Promises: The Book of Mormon and the United States of America.
This article discusses how geographical theories about the Book of Mormon have developed. Whereas many of the early members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints speculated that the Book of Mormon took place throughout all of the Americas, many present members and scholars believe it took place in the more specific region known as Mesoamerica.
Review of Bruce H. Porter and Rod L. Meldrum. Prophecies and Promises: The Book of Mormon and the United States of America.
The Book of Mormon first mentions a weapon called a cimeter during the time of Enos (some time between about 544 and 421 bc). Speaking of his people’s Lamanite enemies, Enos says, “their skill was in the bow, and in the cimeter, and the ax” (Enos 1:20). Later, in the first and second centuries bc, the weapon was part of the armory of both Nephites and Lamanites in addition to swords and other weapons (Mosiah 9:16; 10:8; Alma 2:12; 43:18, 20, 37; 60:2; Helaman 1:14).
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mosiah
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Helaman
Review of “The Priority of Mosiah: A Prelude to Book of Mormon Exegesis” (1993), by Brent Lee Metcalf.
After Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage and crossing of the Red Sea, another enemy, the Amalekites, attacked the camp on its pilgrimage to worship God at Sinai. Moses, in response to this cowardly act, directed Joshua to fight them. For his part, Moses would stand atop a nearby hill holding the rod of God. “And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.” Moses, however, was tired and could not always keep his hands up, so “Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun” (Exodus 17:8– 12, emphasis added), allowing Joshua and the men of Israel to prevail in the battle.
Roper discusses the regularly recurring Spaulding-Rigdon theory of the origins of the Book of Mormon and disputes, once again, the claims that Joseph Smith based the Book of Mormon text on a manuscript by Solomon Spaulding. Roper refutes the existence of two Spaulding manuscripts and shows possible influences of Jedediah Morse’s Geography on Spaulding’s existing “Manuscript Story.”
Book of Mormon descriptions of defensive fortifications are not attributable to specific nineteenth-century sources but rather to the English vocabulary of the day.
The account of the great destruction at the death of Christ in Third Nephi relates that many cities at the time were destroyed by fire (3 Nephi 8:14; 9:3, 9–11). In an article published in 1998, geologist Bart Kowallis argued that the destructive events, including the burning of cities described there, are consistent with the effects of a significant volcanic event. The volcanic interpretation fits particularly well in a Mesoamerican setting where volcanic events are historically common. Additional support for this interpretation can be found in Mormon’s description of the aftermath of these events. In his abridgement of the subsequent history of the people of Lehi, Mormon states that it was many years before these burned cities were rebuilt and inhabited (4 Nephi 1:6–7).
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 4 Nephi
This paper is part of a series of F.A.R.M.S. papers intended to give clear, concise answers to criticisms that have been raised against the Book of Mormon. As can be seen in the footnotes, much is owed to previous researchers who have addressed these criticisms. The foundation wishes to thank Matthew Roper for his help in gathering and summarizing large portions of the raw material for this series of papers. The authors wish to thank Robert Durocher for his help with this paper.
Review of ?Of Cities and Swords: The Impossible Task of Mormon Apologetics? (1996), by James White
One of the complaints leveled against Lehi by his rebellious sons Laman and Lemuel and his wife, Sariah, was that he was a “visionary man” (1 Nephi 2:11; 5:2). Although this term does not appear in the King James translation of the Bible, it accurately reflects the Hebrew word hazon, meaning divine vision.1 Although this Hebrew term appears in connection with true prophets of God, it is also sometimes written with a negative connotation, describing false prophets, especially in the writings of Lehi’s contemporary Jeremiah (Jeremiah 14:14; 23:16).
The abundance of skeptical theories about who wrote the Book of Mormon has led many scholars to seek scientific data to discover the answer. One technique is stylometry. Having first been developed in the 1850s, stylometry seeks to find the ” wordprint” of a text. Although these stylistic studies are not as accurate as a human’s fingerprint, they can give researchers a good idea either of differences in style between authors or of who might have written a text from a list of possible authors. Beginning in the 1960s individuals have completed four major stylometric studies on the Book of Mormon, studies that varied in both findings and quality of research. In addition to these four studies, this article presents a fifth study—using extended nearest shrunken centroid (ENSC) classification—that incorporates and improves on the earlier research.
This article discusses the possibility that DNA is not dependable evidence either for or against the veracity of the Book of Mormon. It is difficult to ascertain whether Book of Mormon people were literal descendants of Israel and how similar those genetics are with modern Israelites. Therefore, no conclusive statements can be made concerning the DNA of Book of Mormon people.
Roper examines the use of the terms sword and cimeter in a Mesoamerican setting as well as in the Book of Mormon text. The macuahuitl was a fearsome weapon consisting of a long, flat piece of hardwood with grooves along the side into which sharp fragments of flint or obsidian were set and glued. Our knowledge of this weapon comes more from written accounts than actual artifacts because few specimens have survived. The Book of Mormon sword of Laban was used as a model for making swords, but they were not necessarily made of the same material. The discussion in Alma 24:12 having to do with stained swords would make particular sense with wooden swords. Cimeters, or scimitars, differ from swords in having curved blades. Several kinds of swords and cimeters that were in use in ancient Mesoamerica are plausible candidates for Book of Mormon weapons.
Abstract: The claim that God revealed the details of Book of Mormon geography is not new, but the recent argument that there was a conspiracy while the Prophet was still alive to oppose a revealed geography is a novel innovation. A recent theory argues that the “Mesoamerican theory” or “limited Mesoamerican geography” originated in 1841 with Benjamin Winchester, an early Mormon missionary, writer, and dissident, who rejected the leadership of Brigham Young and the Twelve after 1844. This theory also claims that three unsigned editorials on Central America and the Book of Mormon published in the Times and Seasons on September 15 and October 1, 1842 were written by Benjamin Winchester, who successfully conspired with other dissidents to publish them against the will of the Prophet. Three articles address these claims. This first article addresses two questions: Did Joseph Smith, as some have claimed, know the details of and put forth a revealed Book of Mormon geography? Second, what is a Mesoamerican geography and does it constitute a believable motive for a proposed Winchester conspiracy?.
Review of Answering Mormon Scholars: A Response to Criticism Raised by Mormon Defenders (1996), by Jerald and Sandra Tanner
In one of the more moving narratives found in the Book of Mormon, a group of Lamanites are miraculously prevented from killing the prophets Nephi and Lehi in a prison. The Lamanites and Nephite dissenters are then redeemed from their own spiritual bondage when they are converted to Christ.
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.
An earlier edition of The Mormon Papers: Are the Mormon Scriptures Reliable? Wiith revisions from Wesley P. Walters
Examines the Mormon church’s claim to divine authority to determine if the “extrabiblical scriptures the Mormons hold sacred are really the Word of God” Looks at the theories concerning the origin of the Book of Mormon, including the idea that Joseph Smith wrote it himself, the Spaulding/Rigdon theory, and the View of the Hebrews
“While considering ways of making the precepts of the Book of Mormon more readily available to the reader, it was concluded it may be possible to isolate by some distinguishing format the doctrinal precepts and at the same time render this rather complex volume of scripture more comprehensible for reading and pondering. The formatting has been enhanced by adding margin indents, two type sizes, and spaces between textual subdivisions.” [Authors]
“While considering ways of making the precepts of the Book of Mormon more readily available to the reader, it was concluded it may be possible to isolate by some distinguishing format the doctrinal precepts and at the same time render this rather complex volume of scripture more comprehensible for reading and pondering. The formatting has been enhanced by adding margin indents, two type sizes, and spaces between textual subdivisions.” [Authors]
A Sunday School instructional aid comprising sixty lessons beginning with the Jaredites and concluding with the book of Moroni. Each lesson includes a retelling of a portion of the Book of Mormon and questions.
A Sunday School instructional aid comprising sixty lessons beginning with the Jaredites and concluding with the book of Moroni. Each lesson includes a retelling of a portion of the Book of Mormon and questions.
A 44-page work that features a series of questions and answers about the Book of Mormon.
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
Testimony that chiasmus in 2 Nephi 2 validates the authenticity of the Book of Mormon.
A children’s coloring book with a Book of Mormon story line.
This article contains two works, both based on an article by Alice le Plongeon who argues that there is a connection between ancient Americans and ancient Egyptians, the latter originating from ancient America: “New Light Upon the Prophets Divinity” by R. W. Young, which proposes that America is the “old world” where Adam and Eve resided; and “Evidence In Support of The Book of Mormon” by Martin W. Roylance, which adds that the connection between these ancient peoples is explained by the Book of Mormon. He identifies Valparaiso, Chili, as the landing place for the Jaredites.
Asserts that the witnesses of the Book of Mormon were only carrying out a “cunning trick arranged for them by Joseph Smith”
Believes that even though the major events of the Book of Mormon took place in South America, it would have been possible for the gold plates to have been brought to New York. Author argues, therefore, that the Hill Cumorah is in New York.
A polemical article against the Book of Mormon. The author gives a brief summary of the Book of Mormon narrative and several Christian doctrines included in the book. While admitting that some ancient peoples wrote on metal plates he rejects Joseph Smith’s account as an unlikely fiction. He discounts the testimonies of Book of Mormon witnesses on the grounds that they only experienced the things with their spiritual eyes and that it was not a literal experience.
A polemical article against the Book of Mormon. Author considers numerous environmental influences Joseph Smith could have drawn upon: Ethan Smith’s View of the Hebrews, plagiarized biblical passages, anti-Catholic influences, anti-Masonry, revival language, Westminster Confession, and others. He appeals to the “automatic unity” theory in order to explain the speed of composition of the Book of Mormon. He alleges that Book of Mormon Isaiah passages quote errors in the King James translation of the Old Testament. He considers anachronistic the assertion that steel, the compass, and horses were known in Book of Mormon times.
A polemical work against the Book of Mormon. The author discusses the Anthon denials and other alleged anachronisms in the Book of Mormon such as the pre-Columbian presence of certain domesticated animals in America such as the horse, cow, and ox. The Book of Mormon quotes Shakespeare, the Westminster Confession of faith, and plagiarizes the New Testament.
A rebuttal to the works of several apologists from the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that attacked Rumble’s earlier work, The Mormons or Latter-Day Saints. [M R.]
A pamphlet containing a reprint of articles published in the Saints Herald in October 1903. The Book of Mormon was an important part of the Restoration.
The Book of Mormon was an important part of the Restoration, as it revealed the origin and the fullness of the gospel delivered to the former inhabitants of America. When Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith to reveal the location of the plates, he quoted many Bible prophecies that the book would fulfill.
Abstract: Zoram, the servant of Laban, is a character from the Book of Mormon who is only mentioned a few times and on whom little information is given. This article analyzes what information is given in the Book of Mormon and contextualizes its historical background, all coupled with the observations of Latter-day Saint Church leaders and scholars. Insight is provided concerning Zoram’s Hebraic descent in the tribe of Manasseh and his working duties under Laban’s command, along with how all this affected his role in assisting Lehi’s family. The meaning of his name in Hebrew and possible correlations to the meaning of his life’s events are explained. The oath between Nephi and Zoram is discussed, and the debate regarding whether Zoram was a slave or servant is addressed, to show that he was likely a free servant.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Tells about an excavation in Wayne County, Michigan that may have a bearing on Book of Mormon archaeology.
In an effort to make “serious inquiry” and “revise our assertions” about the historical account in the Book of Mormon, this RLDS writer asserts that Mormons must be honest and open-minded in their investigations. Two problems in the Book of Mormon examined in this article are: Do the ideas of Lehi and Nephi harmonize with the ideas of Israel at the time of their exodus in 600 b.c.? And there is an improbability that the Savior would have delivered the same sermon to both the Old and New World such as the Sermon on the Mount.
The writer notes what he feels are several anachronisms in the Book of Mormon, including Christian theology, pre- exilic Israel, the remarkable precision with which Book of Mormon prophets predict New Testament events, and uniquely American ideas and concerns. While the Book of Mormon may be inspired, it contains no ancient history.
Book review.
Review of Finding Biblical Hebrew and Other Ancient Literary Forms in the Book of Mormon (1999), by Hugh W. Pinnock
Rust, in the third annual FARMS Book of Mormon lecture delivered on 27 February 1990, examin3ed literary aspects of the book that develop the primary purposes set out on the title page. He discussed the elements characteristic of an epic that will allow modern-day Lamanites to trust in the Lord's deliverance and detailed literary (especially poetic) presentations of the covenants in the Book of Mormon. Literary elements combine with the influence of the Spirit to testify of the purposes of the Book of Mormon.
Review of James T. Duke. The Literary Masterpiece Called the Book of Mormon.
Many Book of Mormon passages are given life by the pictures or images they awake in our minds. In Ether the power comes from referring directly to “mountain waves.” The memorable picture of King Noah is not so direct, being formed from a figure of speech: the ruler is like a “dry stalk” crushed under foot. Without their imagery, these verses would lose their beauty and vitality.
An introductory report on scriptural poetics directed toward the teenage audience. Identified are the principal types of parallelisms, i.e., synonymous, synthetic, antithetical, and staircase parallelisms.
An introductory report on scriptural poetics directed toward the teenage audience. Identified are the principal types of parallelisms, i.e., synonymous, synthetic, antithetical, and staircase parallelisms.
Though the King James Version of the Bible has long been admired for the elegance and beauty of its language, its companion volume, the Book of Mormon, has only recently begun to be truly appreciated for its own literary merits.
In Feasting on the Word, Richard Rust shows the Book of Mormon to be not only a bounteous doctrinal storehouse but also a treasury of literary riches, bidding us to taste, touch, see, and hear in order to experience things of the Spirit. Rust explains that the text was planned purposefully and shaped artistically so that form and content are totally integrated, as they are in great works of literature.
Literary elements used by the book’s prophetic writers to invite the reader to come unto Christ include form and imagery, poetry and narrative, repetition and chiasm. Several such elements are of ancient Hebrew and Middle Eastern origin, and their presence in the Book of Mormon testifies of its conscious literary craftsmanship.
With its doctrinal content so plain and precious, the Book of Mormon fulfills both our spiritual and our artistic longings; it speaks to us intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. This interconnection of truth and goodness is explored with sensitivity and intelligence and will enhance the reader’s awareness and appreciation of the truth and beauty of the Book of Mormon.
Letters praising the Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture and responses to articles published therein.
From God’s first creative act recorded in Genesis to the brightness with which the Savior will return in the second coming, light is ever present in scripture. Many instances in the scriptures record God’s use of light to further his purposes—the stones that provided the Jaredites light while crossing the ocean, the light by which the children of Israel were led in the wilderness, and the light that announced the Savior’s birth. None of these physical manifestations of light is without powerful symbolic meaning. At other points in scripture, light is used purely as a symbol—a symbol of truth, wisdom, power, and righteousness. More important than these, though, is that light can ultimately represent Jesus Christ himself, by whose light all can be saved.
Review of “Voice from the Dust”: A Literary Analysis of the Book of Mormon” (1996), by Walter Krajewski; and A New Witness for Christ: Chiastic Structure in the Book of Mormon (1997), by H. Clay Gorton
In the Book of Mormon, God speaks to us in the most powerful, effective way possible by interconnecting truth, goodness, and beauty. A good deal of what the Book of Mormon says is in how it is said. Richard Rust offers examples of how the choice words and their structure help convey the testimony of the Book of Mormon.
Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy. Arranging this memorable thought from the Book of Mormon into two lines reveals its poetic character. Arranged in four lines, its neat structure is even more apparent. In this case, understanding the structure enhances our understanding of the meaning: the fall of Adam allows mankind to exist, and the potential destiny of mankind can bring ultimate joy. Rather than being an isolated example, this brief piece is just one of numerous poetic passages throughout the Book of Mormon, which are usually unrecognized as poetry because they are printed as prose. When arranged as verse, however, the poetic parts of the Book of Mormon are unveiled as having great beauty and power.
This chapter considers the inconsistent amount of detail given to wars in the Book of Mormon, with some important conflicts receiving a mere sentence while several pages are dedicated to less important battles. The author concludes that the wars in the Book of Mormon are intended to prepare us for the spiritual conflict we face in our day.
Repetition appears purposefully within Book of Mormon narratives as a principle of reinforcement and confirmation. It seems that every important action, event, or character is repeated in the Book of Mormon. These repetitions emphasize the law of witnesses at work within the book (e.g., “in the mouth of three witnesses shall these things be established”; Ether 5:4). Further, they underscore the relevance of one character or action to people living in a different time, and they link narratives together with what Robert Alter calls “type-scenes.” Analyzed in detail as particularly striking are threefold repetitions in Nephi’s task to retrieve the brass plates and repetition of the word “power” in the missionary endeavor of the sons of Mosiah. Larger repeated narratives treat escape and travel to a promised land; repentance; and the nature, rise, and effect of secret combinations.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
Interwoven throughout the Book of Mormon are images of eating and drinking that serve as symbols and metaphors inspiring readers to flee degradation and partake of eternal life. In significant ways, the Book of Mormon employs images of eating and drinking or the absence of them to develop implications of survival, social relations, and covenants. Its metaphorical use of these images is especially rich. It calls to those who approach it, “Taste and feast.”
A book on religious experience in America. Devotes a chapter to the Book of Mormon, stating various theories of its origin.
Discusses many aspects of the LDS religion including a section describing Joseph Smith’s experiences in bringing forth the Book of Mormon.