Between 250 and 300 people took part on 27–29 March 2003 in a conference in New Haven, Connecticut, devoted to the subject of “God, Humanity, and Revelation: Perspectives from Mormon Philosophy and History.” The conference, hosted by the Divinity School of Yale University, was organized by Kenneth West, a Latter-day Saint graduate student there. The Institute for the Study and Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts was one of the conference sponsors.

Review of Michael S. Helser. “You've Seen One Elohim, You've Seen Them All? A Critique of Mormonism's Apologetic Use of Psalm 82.”

John Sorenson proposes a plausible chronology for the Jaredites based on what is known of ancient American cultures through archaeology.

Review of ?The Disappointment of B. H. Roberts: Five Questions that Forced a Mormon General Authority to Abandon the Book of Mormon? (1991), by James R. Spencer

Heiser discusses Psalm 82 and the interpretations of Elohim that Latter-day Saints and evangelicals derive from that scriptural passage. Heiser then offers alternative interpretations from his own study.

More than ten years ago, Stephen Ricks and John Tvedtnes presented a case for interpreting the Book of Mormon proper noun Zarahemla as a Hebraic construct meaning “seed of compassion” or “child of grace, pity, or compassion.” The authors theorized: It may be that the Mulekite leader was given that name because his ancestor had been rescued when the other sons of King Zedekiah were slain during the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem. [See Mosiah 25:2.] To subsequent Nephite generations, it may have even suggested the deliverance of their own ancestors from Jerusalem prior to its destruction or the anticipation of Christ’s coming.

The chronology of the use of plant imagery

Catherine Thomas emphasizes that a condition of peace is necessary in order for us to experience the companionship of the Spirit. We are prone to experience troubled relationships, but we can by our own volition elect to develop a satisfying sense of at-one-ment with our associates. The Book of Mormon describes dysfunctional families, including Lehi’s. Nephi explains in his psalm (2 Nephi 4) that how we are judged will not be based on what others do to us, but on how we react to them.

Review of Working toward Zion: Principles of the United Order for the Modern World (1996), by James W. Lucas and Warner P. Woodworth.

The Zoramites’ transformation from quiescent dissidents to aggressive enemies of their former brethren and mother culture is a powerful study of human nature. The Book of Mormon does not delineate the reasons that the Zoramites separated themselves from the larger population at Zarahemla, but they obviously felt a great deal of animosity toward their former brethren. Perhaps they had been marginalized in Nephite society because of their ethnicity. They constructed a culture that deliberately differed in many ways from that at Zarahemla, and they expelled all who were converted by Alma. Because of their extreme hatred of the Nephites, the Zoramites ultimately joined with the Lamanites as fierce enemies of the Nephites.

The Zoramite narratives of Alma 31-35 and Alma 43-44 are richly symbolic accounts woven with many subtle details regarding the imporatnce of costly apparel and riches as an outward evidence of pride. This literary analysis focuses on how Mormon as editor structured the Zoramite narrative and used clothing as a metaphor to show the dangers of pride and the blessings afforded by humble adherence to God’s teachings and covenants. The Zoramite’s pride--as evidenced by their focus on costly apparel, gold, silver, and fine goods (Alma 31:24-25, 28)--competes with the foundational Book of Mormon teaching that the obedient will “ prosper in the land” (1 Nephi 4:14; Mosiah 1:7). The story deveops this tension between pride and true prosperity by employing the metaphor of clothing to set up several dramatic ironies.