BYU Studies
Alphabetical by Title

The Gadianton wars were different from most other wars in the Book of Mormon in that they were internal, often covert, and protracted. They included components of terrorism, assassination, insurgency, and other horrific aspects of war. We can trace similar characteristics from these ancient wars with the current conflicts that are occurring today, especially those in the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. The story of seventy years of fighting with the Gadianton robbers is told using a modernized perspective that focuses specifically on the methods by which the robbers fought the wars—secret base areas, propaganda, guerrilla-type attacks—strikingly similar to modern events.

Game theory has been applied to a number of disciplines, including economics, law, politics, sociology, and Bible studies, but this article is the first serious attempt to apply it to the Book of Mormon narrative. One particularly important model in game theory is known as the Prisoner’s Dilemma, which emphasizes the possibility and benefits of cooperation in the face of conflict. The Book of Mormon account is an almost constant narrative based on conflict, first within the family of Lehi and then between two warring factions that arise from a split in that original Book of Mormon family. These conflicts tend to fit the Prisoner’s Dilemma model extremely well. In a final estimation, the Prisoner’s Dilemma and its application in the Book of Mormon provide another way of looking at the Book of Mormon’s core messages of atonement, redemption, and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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.

Chapter Sixteen of Mark Twain’s Roughing It begins, “All men have heard of the Mormon Bible, but few except the ”elect’ have seen it, or, at least, taken the trouble to read it.” Conversely, all Mormons have heard of Twain’s caustic burlesque on the Book of Mormon, but none seems to have taken the trouble to demonstrate to Gentiles that Twain was obviously one of the multitude who had not read the book. Indeed, the four chapters in Roughing It(1872) devoted to the Mormons and their “golden Bible” continue to evoke hilarity from Latter-day Saints, not only because of the burlesque on sacred Mormon institutions, of which Twain was understandably but appallingly ignorant, but also because of the amusingly evident fact that if Twain read the Book of Mormon at all, it was in the same manner that Tom Sawyer won the Sunday School Bible contest—by cheating.

Mormons in Eastern Europe found themselves mercilessly caught at the center of political and social turmoil during World War II and its aftermath. This book is a completely new collection of first-hand accounts by German and other Eastern European Latter-day Saints who suffered unbelievably brutal trials and lived to tell their stories. These personal statements, gathered and translated by Lynn Hansen, are humbling: Mama always said, ‘Go to bed, then you will not feel the hunger.’ We stumbled around in the dark forest with the others. A fire bomb fell into the bunker and we had to get out because there was so much smoke. As we came out, we saw the entire city on fire. Despite having their homes bombed and their lives shattered, and despite having to struggle for survival in frozen forests and on foreign streets, these Saints clung to their faith. Their vivid memories and poignant testimonies convey this through and through. Often, prayer was their only ally. Though the individual stories of these many Saints are varied and diverse, they all echo a common theme: Our Father in Heaven was accompanying us. The true treasure of these stories is the lesson that faith and testimony, obedience and faithfulness will bring blessings from heaven. As one survivor puts it, The gospel is true. The priesthood of God exists, and we have been mightily blessed in the Church, in our families, and also materially in having what we needed to sustain life. These real-life experiences build faith despite despair, offer hope amidst peril, and champion charity in defiance of hate.

A contribution to the continuing debate over the Joseph Smith Papyri and the historical authenticity of the Book of Abraham.

Women constituted a significant portion of the membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during its first decade of existence. However, little historical analysis exists to document the contribution and experience of these women as a whole. Janiece Johnson’s work examines the religious experience of some of those early Mormon women through the documentary editing and analysis of nineteen letters written between 1831 and 1843. Three themes dominate these women’s correspondence: spiritual knowledge, bearing witness of the restored gospel, and sacrifice. The women exhibited knowledge of the existence of God as a Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ as Savior of the world, and Joseph Smith Jr. as God’s direct mouthpiece. The women’s conviction was explicitly demonstrated through their personal writings, proffering an intimate glimpse of a unique religion and belief as the motivation of these women.

Teachings about grace in the Book of Mormon are more at home in the worlds of the Bible and the ancient Mediterranean than in the modern understanding that grace is a free, unearned gift. The Book of Mormon teaches that grace is part of a covenant that places requirements on the receiver. Grace manifests God’s goodness to humankind and is closely aligned with mercy and Christ’s Atonement to meet the demands of justice and make salvation possible. It parallels the meanings of hesed (mercy) from the Old Testament and the concept that all gifts give rise to reciprocal obligations, which prevailed in the ancient world.