Book of Mormon Bibliography
Alphabetical by Title

Several maps from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries support details of Lehi’s journey as recorded in the Book of Mormon. In 1751, the renowned cartographer Jean Baptiste Bourguignon D’Anville became the first to include Nahom (or Nehem), Ishmael’s burial place in the Book of Mormon, in his map of Asia. This map and a 1771 map of Yemen are the basis for most accurate maps of Arabia from 1751 to 1814. The spelling varies among the subsequent maps, with most using either D’Anville’s Nehem or Niebuhr’s Nehhm, but the location of Nahom does not differ between those maps that include Nahom. The mention of Nahom on the finest maps by the greatest cartographers of the times, in a location that corresponds to Lehi’s account, gives credence to Lehi’s travels.

Points out that there were major contacts between the American continent and Asia, European, and Mediterranean peoples before Columbus.

Throughout the Bible, understanding the meaning of names of important people and places is often crucial to understanding the message of the ancient authors. In other words, names of people and places serve as \"key-words\" that can help unlock the intended messages of scripture.Since the Book of Mormon is an ancient record rooted in Old Testament traditions, it is not surprising that similar patterns of wordplay emerge from its pages. Besides their important tole as key-words in scriptural interpretation, the names of people and places may also provide our clearest glimpses into the text that existed on the plates from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon. In many instances, the names of important Book of Mormon people and places are directly related to words matching the most-likely Hebrew and Egyptian origins for those names. Textual and contextual clues suggest that this matching was done deliberately in order to enhance literary beauty and as an aid to understanding. In some cases, authorial wordplay can be verified by a close analysis of matching text structures. In others, the wordplay can be verified by using the Bible as a \"control\" text. A wealth of philological, onomastic, and textual evidence suggests that the Book of Mormon, like the Bible, is the work of ancient authors rather than of a rural nineteenth-century man of limited literary attainments. Knowing more about these names enriches our understanding of the stories that these authors tell.

A brief report on the possible origins and meaning of select Book of Mormon proper names—i.e., Mormon, Cumorah, Shiblon, and Mosiah

A brief report on the possible origins and meaning of select Book of Mormon proper names—i.e., Mormon, Cumorah, Shiblon, and Mosiah.

This article argues that the appellation “Moroni” shows up in Asia, the Americas, and even in Paul’s exclamation “maranatha” (1 Cor. 16:22).

The Book of Mormon clearly teaches the name of Jesus’ church and outlines the requirements of membership. One must be willing to take the name of Christ upon him or herself and enter into covenants with nim.

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.

Unlike the Old and New Testaments, where a variety of Hebrew and Greek texts exist to aid us, for the Book of Mormon we have only the King James English translation produced by Joseph Smith. The languages of the Book of Mormon were hardly the same throughout the original composition. Chadwick continues the onomastic discussion of the names Lehi and Sariah by suggesting that the Book of Mormon name Lehi matches the spelling in the King James Bible in the place-name Ramath-lehi; therefore the two must necessarily represent the same Hebrew term. He agrees with one of Hoskisson’s meanings for Lehi’s name— “jaw”— and indicates this may be a nickname rather than a proper name. Sariah is attested as a female name in a Near Eastern document. Although not found as a female name in the Bible, it is well documented as a male name in ancient Israel. In this light, the name means “Jehovah is Prince,” meaning Jehovah is the son of a king.

John W. Welch, “Narrating Homicide Chiastically: Why Scriptures about Killings Use Chiasmus,” examines eight chiastic structures that pertain to homicides—three legal texts and five homicide narratives. The legal texts include “The Case of the Blasphemer (Leviticus 24:13–23)” and “The Law of Homicide (Numbers 35).” The narratives include “Abimelech’s Killing of Seventy of His Brothers (Judges 9:56–57)”; “The Case of Phinehas (Numbers 25)”; and “The Slaying of Laban (1 Nephi 4:4–27).” Welch concludes that these eight structures assist readers in recognizing the broader context of each homicide passage and “to discern the key central point on which the case turns.” Welch’s paper also contributes on a further level by cataloguing thirteen possible reasons why authors employed chiasmus when narrating a homicide. These purposes include, “propelling logic and persuasiveness,” “creating order,” “restoring equilibrium,” “processing circumstances,” “probing relevancy,” and “reinforcing memory.”

This paper suggests the use of narrative criticism, a recent literary interpretive tool, as a favorable method of Book of Mormon interpretation. As an example of narrative interpretation, the narrative by Samuel the Lamanite in Helaman 13–16 is analyzed as a discrete narrative portion of the Book of Mormon for the exploration of the possibilities of a narrative critical approach to its text. Instead of focusing on the content of Samuel’s exhortations, lamentations, and prophecies in order to understand these passages, I interpret the surrounding narrative and find it serves as an impressive complement to the doctrinal content of Samuel’s discourse.

The Book of Helaman is a segment of the Book of Mormon whose study is both imperative and complicated in underappreciated ways. The imperative behind the book of Helaman’s study lies in the text’s significance for the self-conception of the Book of Mormon as well as its mythmaking function for the early Saints in their imaginative mapping of the American West. Like the Book of Mormon, Helaman traffics in buried texts that disclose signs and covenants and makes explicit the latent Lamanite frame that undergirds the Book of Mormon as a whole. It presents, as well, the Book of Mormon’s most robust account of secret combinations-a group that then entranced the text’s earliest readers to such a degree that they used this characterization to imbue their landscape with religious significance, describing the mountains surrounding the Salt Lake Valley as “the abode of the spirits of Gadianton robbers.” To understand the Book of Mormon’s sense of itself as a material artifact, to clarify the theological status of the Lamanites, and to explore the way the Book of Mormon helped sculpt a sense of place for early Latter-day Saints, close attention to the book of Helaman is an unavoidable prerequisite.

This article demonstrates certain similarities existing between texts in 1 Nephi in the Book of Mormon and a little-known document entitled “The Narrative of Zosimus.” The Narrative’s core material was written originally in Hebrew and appears to be at least as old as the time of Christ, and perhaps much older. There is no evidence that any knowledge about the Narrative of Zosimus existed in any English-speaking land prior to the publication of the Book of Mormon.

Hydrogeologist and geoarchaeologist Michael Hobby and geoarchaeologist Troy Smith recount experiences as they investigate the Panama region for possible evidence for the narrowest point in pre-Columbian times. This report includes maps and photographs.

Reviews the story of Captain Moroni (Alma 46) as an example of a righteous leader, student of the scriptures, man of faith, and a “champion of human liberty”

A doctrinal treatise that attempts to show that the Japanese are descendants of the house of Israel, some of whom may be descended from Lehi, a Book of Mormon prophet.

This paper probes the theories of the origin of the American Indian up to the time of the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon. It covers some three hundred years of development, looking at many different theories, including the predominant theory of the lost tribes of Israel, which was in decline among most leading scientific observers in the early nineteenth century. The paper covers new ground in showing that Professor Samuel L. Mitchill, formerly of Columbia College, had concluded that two main groups of people once dominated the Americas—the Tartars of northern Asia and the Australasians of the Polynesian islands. Furthermore, they fought one another for many years, culminating in great battles of extermination in what later became upstate New York. This New York theory has much in common with the Book of Mormon. While visiting Professor Charles Anthon in New York in 1828, Martin Harris also met with Mitchill, an encounter that lent support to Harris’s work on the Book of Mormon.

A poem that speaks about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon in the last day.

King Benjamin stated that “the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been since the fall of Adam” (Mosiah 3:19). Brigham Young declared mankind God’s noblest work, but when Adam and Eve fell from the presence of God they were brought into an unnatural state, in contact with influences of an evil nature. The “natural man” spoken of by King Benjamin is equivalent to President Young’s “unnatural man.” Both refer to mankind that has been estranged from God.

Gary Novak explains the problems caused by looking at religious history through naturalistic assumptions. He uses the naturalistic writings of Dale Morgan and Fawn Brodie to show that such assumptions exclude God from the writing of history, transforming the meaning of faith and eroding collective religious memory.He looks at biases created when Marvin Hill and Leonard Arrington adopt naturalistic assumptions into their writing.

Joseph Smith and his followers declared the Book of Mormon’s supernatural origin—that it was a divinely inspired translation of an ancient-American record, acquired by Joseph through visions and the help of an angel. This explanation, however, was widely rejected by outsiders from the outset. Within weeks after the Book of Mormon’s first pages came off the press, critics promoted “naturalistic explanations”—so called because they are based on scientific observation or natural phenomena—that rejected the possibility of a divine, supernatural origin of the Book of Mormon. To varying degrees, these naturalistic theories continue to be perpetuated today. This article examines the most popular naturalistic explanations for the Book of Mormon longitudinally, which will enable readers to better understand them and why they have waxed and waned in popularity over time.

Describes the nature and origin of the Book of Mormon as well as the Doctrine and Covenants.

In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.
The long summary at the end of this chapter tells what it is about. It is a general picture of Nephite culture, which turns out to be a very different sort of thing from what is commonly imagined. The Nephites were a small party of migrants laden with a very heavy and complete cultural baggage. Theirs was a mixed culture. In America they continued their nomadic ways and lived always close to the wilderness, while at the same time building cities and cultivating the soil. Along with much local migration attending their colonization of the new lands, these people were involved in a major population drift towards the north. Their society was organized along hierarchical lines, expressed in every phase of their social activity.

The Book of Mormon is a book about God. It provides one of the most powerful treatments of the nature of God of any other book in Latter-day Saint scripture. Robert Millet puts forth arguments to show that the Book of Mormon does not depict only one God. Jesus Christ is the central character, but the fact that there is a God separate from Christ comes through early on.

Claims that Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon entered into an early conspiracy that led to the Book of Mormon. Discusses the role of the Three Witnesses, referring especially to the “feeble and superstitious mind” of Martin Harris.

Claims that Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon entered into an early conspiracy that led to the Book of Mormon. Discusses the role of the Three Witnesses, referring especially to the “feeble and superstitious mind” of Martin Harris.

The Doctrine of Salvation (the Doctrine of Christ) is found clearly in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine of Exaltation (the Nauvoo Doctrine or Doctrine of the Father), which deals with temple ordinances, is present in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon does reveal and illuminate the “covenant which God the Father made to the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob . . . the ‘work of the Father’ (1 Nephi 14:17)”

An exposé of Mormonism. Among other things the author criticizes the Book of Mormon for containing King James English and containing “monstrous fictions” The Spaulding manuscript is suggested to be the original basis for the Book of Mormon.

Parallels between sickle swords and two-bladed knives in ancient Mesoamerica and the Near East may strengthen the possibility of some historical link between the areas. Similarities in weapons terminology may also lead to fruitful research.

The prophetic counsel to read the Book of Mormon daily has not been reversed. Coming nearer to God is the very reason for reading its pages.

Types in the scriptures are important for us to understand in order to get all we can from the scriptures. The Lehite’s journey in the wilderness is a type of our spiritual journey, Nephite warfare descriptions are types, and the 158 years between Mosiah2 and the coming of Christ is a type of the period of restoration and the second coming.

Types are a pattern for the future and reveal an understanding that God is in control. Every future event between the present and the millennium has been foretold through types in the scriptures. Types contained in the Book of Mormon include Lehi’s journey in the wilderness, Nephites/Lamanites, warfare, and the 158 years between Mosiah as king and the coming of Christ.

Much research has been devoted to identifying and examining language patterns in the Book of Mormon that appear to reflect the book’s underlying Semitic character. One possible Hebraism in the Book of Mormon that has not received attention is the use of negative rhetorical questions when a positive meaning is intended. Some modern Bible translations now translate these negative questions in a positive or even emphatic way. This rhetorical device occurs in English, but it is stronger and more com-mon in biblical Hebrew.

Examines the Book of Mormon as a literary document in the context of the early nineteenth century and views it as a reflection of those naturalistic influences.

When authors use the rhetorical device of literary allusion, they not only teach through their own words but also attach to their own text meanings and interpretations from the alluded text. This is true of Nephi’s allusion to the account of David and Goliath in Nephi’s own account of his killing Laban, which allusion is generally of a thematic nature. A few of the main thematic parallels between the two accounts are that both unbelieving Israel and Laman and Lemuel are fearful of the main antagonist, both David and Nephi prophesy the death of their opponent, and both Goliath and Laban have their heads cut off and armor stripped. The implications of this allusion run deep. At a time in which the right to kingship was continually in dispute between Nephi and Laman, Nephi casting himself as David—the archetypal king of Judah, whose faith led to his supplanting Saul—could be seen as legitimizing his regal authority over Laman.

Asherah was the chief goddess of the Canaanites. She was El’s wife and the mother and wet nurse of the other gods. At least some Israelites worshipped her over a period from the conquest of Canaan in the second millennium before Christ to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC (the time of Lehi’s departure with his family). Asherah was associated with trees—sacred trees. The rabbinic authors of the Jewish Mishna (second–third century ad) explain the asherah as a tree that was worshipped. In 1 Nephi 11, Nephi considers the meaning of the tree of life as he sees it in vision. In answer, he receives a vision of “a virgin, . . . the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.” The answer to his question about the meaning of the tree lies in the virgin mother with her child. The virgin is the tree in some sense and Nephi accepted this as an answer to his question. As an Israelite living at the end of the seventh century and during the early sixth century before Christ, he recognized an answer to his question about a marvelous tree in the otherwise unexplained image of a virginal mother and her divine child—not that what he saw and how he interpreted those things were perfectly obvious. What he “read” from the symbolic vision was culturally colored. Nephi’s vision reflects a meaning of the “sacred tree” that is unique to the ancient Near East. Asherah is also associated with biblical wisdom literature. Wisdom, a female, appears as the wife of God and represents life.

A children’s story of Nephi making a new bow to feed his family while they were in the wilderness.

One of the best-known sections of the Book of Mormon tells the story of the journey of Lehi and his family from Jerusalem to the new promised land in the American continent. Yet, since the small plates were intended to contain the “things of God” (1 Nephi 6:4), why was this account included on the small plates while other things that seem to be more the “things of God” (such as the “many things which [Lehi] saw in visions and in dreams”—1 Nephi 1:16) were left out? Quite probably, Nephi, the author of this section, consciously wrote his account of the wilderness journey in a way that would remind the reader of the Exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt. He did this to prove that God loved and cared for the Nephites, just as the Exodus from Egypt was proof of God’s favor for the children of Israel. Therefore, this story of the journey truly is about the things of God and does belong on the small plates.

Nephi was a younger son of a wealthy family. As one who might not inherit his father's business, it is possible that he was trained for another profession. One of the high-status professions open to him would have been a scribe. Beyond the fact that Nephi produced at least three written works (1 Nephi, 2 Nephi, and the nonextant large-plate book of Lehi), there are other evidences in his writing that betray the kind of traning scribes received. His early professional training may have been an important preparation for his later role in establishing his people as a true people of the book.

A children’s story of Nephi building a ship to travel to the promised land.

A children’s story of how Nephi built a ship because he was commanded to by the Lord. It is important to obey the commandments.

Nephi, son of Helaman, confronts the wicked judges (Helaman 6-9).

Mentions the usage of the writings of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon and explains why Latter-day Saints should study Isaiah.

Nephi was raised in Jerusalem and the temple of Solomon would have had a great deal of religious significance is his life.

A children’s coloring book with a Book of Mormon story line.

Nephi concentrated on the hopeful future—our day, when his family’s descendants are beginning to flourish—rather than ugly details of intervening history.

Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1960

Abstract: While David is frequently held up as the standard for great kings in the Old Testament, examination of Nephi’s writings shows that he sought to imitate Moses the prophet rather than David the king. In fact, he never even mentions David. Relative to two major theological movements in Jerusalem in his day, “Zion theology,” in which David was the great hero, and “Deuteronomistic theology,” in which Moses was the hero, we see that Nephi was more aligned with Deuteronomistic theology, which was also more consistent with views in the Northern Kingdom, where Nephi’s ancestry originated.

A story for children recalling when Nephi’s brothers bound him, the power of the Lord loosened the cords, and Nephi forgave his brothers (1 Nephi 7).

Booklet has short essays about Nephi, addressing his role as a shipbuilder, his leadership qualities, his priesthood, and his interest in educating his people.

A story for children. Nephi mourned for his people because of their wickedness and the Lord comforted him. Nephi saw the signs and wonders of Christ being born in Jerusalem.

Biblical scholar Margaret Barker has argued that Judaism was reformed initially in response to the discovery of the “book of the law” (2 Kings 22: 8; 2 Chronicles 34:14) in King Josiah’s time (reigned 640–609 B.C.) and later in response to the destruction of the Israelite monarchy and the experience of the exile. Those reforms were carried out by a priestly group known to scholars as the Deuteronomists, credited with editing the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings (to celebrate Josiah and to address aspects of later Jewish history) and leaving a distinct imprint on the Hebrew Bible.

Authors inevitably make assumptions about their readers as they write. Readers likewise make assumptions about authors and their intentions as they read. Using a postmodern framing, this essay illustrates how a close reading of the text of 1 and 2 Nephi can offer insight into the writing strategies of its author. This reading reveals how Nephi differentiates between his writing as an expression of his own intentions and desires, and the text as the product of divine instruction written for a “purpose I know not.” In order to help his audience understand the text in this context, Nephi as the author interacts with his audience through his rhetorical strategy, pointing towards his own intentions, and offering reading strategies to help them discover God’s purposes in the text.

Nephi’s life and character was a guiding star in Grant’s personal life. Nephi’s example demonstrates the Lord’s power and his fulfillment of promises.

Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, February 11, 1872. Reported By: David W. Evans.

A Jewish custom of blessing God after eating one’s fill at a meal is reflected in passing in Amulek’s household and when the resurrected Christ blesses the sacrament for the Nephites and thereafter instructs them to pray. They “gave glory to Jesus” on this occasion.

A lictional story about a young Nephite who followed the star that led to the Christ child.

This article discusses how the gift of the Holy Ghost may not be received without the laying on of hands. Book of Mormon prophets had the authority to bestow that gift. The Lord did not overlook any necessary ordinances for the Nephites when he visited with them following his resurrection.

Abstract: Mark Alan Wright describes a common type of ritual specialist among the Maya called a “daykeeper.” He discusses similarities and differences with descriptions of ritual specialists in the Book of Mormon, including those who used the Urim and Thummim, performed rituals of healing, experienced near-death episodes at the inauguration of their calling, kept track of calendars, mastered astronomy, and invoked God to bring rain. He finds several intriguing similarities, but also differences — the most important one being that the Nephites understood that the power to do all these things came from the God of Israel rather than the local pantheon.
[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 Mark Alan Wright, “Nephite Daykeepers: Ritual Specialists in Mesoamerica and the Book of Mormon,” in Ancient Temple Worship: Proceedings of The Expound Symposium 14 May 2011, ed. Matthew B. Brown, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Stephen D. Ricks, and John S. Thompson (Orem, UT: The Interpreter Foundation; Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2014), 243–58. Further information at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/ancient-temple-worship/.].

An outline of lessons presented on the Book of Mormon with suggested teaching procedures and emphasis.

Review of “Could Feminism Have Saved the Nephites?” (1996), by Carol Lynn Pearson

A Book of Mormon cartoon book for children based upon popular work entitled Where’s Waldo.

Abstract: General historical consensus holds that synagogues originated before the destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70, and therefore probably originated during the Babylonian captivity. The suggestion in Philo and Josephus that synagogues may have originated during the exodus was discredited by some historians in the 17th century, yet the Book of Mormon speaks of synagogues, sanctuaries, and places of worship in a manner which suggests that Lehi and his party brought some form of synagogal worship with them when they left Jerusalem around 600 BC. This essay revisits the most up to date scholarship regarding the origin of the synagogue and suggests that the Book of Mormon record provides ample reason to look for the origins of the synagogue much earlier that has become the academic custom.

A children’s story of a maid servant of Morianton who warned Moroni of Morianton’s plans, which in turn allowed Moroni to stop the people of Morianton.

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.

This article provides a scholarly analysis of the monetary system of the Nephites used around 82 b.c. and described in Alma 11. The Nephite system was a slight modification of a binary system, where each unit would have twice the value of the next smaller one. The author also shows parallels with similar systems in Egypt and Macedonia.

Analyzes the physical being, the intellectual being, and the emotional being in relation to the Nephites in the Book of Mormon. Several Book of Mormon scriptures describe the character of the people, including Alma 7:10-11, 4 Nephi 1:3, and 4 Nephi 1:15.

This article claims that Nephite leaders and teachers possessed a distinct philosophy regarding life. For instance, God demonstrates an impartiality towards the human race, the Holy Ghost is available to direct one’s life, the principle of freedom is attached to obedience to divine law, an eternal view of things is advanced as opposed to the limited temporal view that mankind is prone to take.

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.

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.

Book of Mormon prophets wrote to those who live in the New World and their prophecies are being fulfilled. Prophets, from Nephi to Moroni, saw the gulf of separation that divides the wicked and the righteous in our day. The last days are here with false prophets, anti-Christs, hysteria, irresponsibility, and rationalization. The Book of Mormon confounds false doctrine.

A listing of scriptures under topic headings. Each scripture is followed by quotations from modern authors that testify of the truthfulness of the scripture.

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

A ready reference that lists the custodians of the Nephite records and when they lived.

Reprint of the Palmyra edition of the Book of Mormon, the Whiterites’ Book of Mormon.

This chapter describes secularization among the Nephites. It claims that the Book of Mormon attempts to solve problems of secularity faced by Joseph Smith in early 19th-century America.

This series is a fictional story of Zemnariah, Kishkumen, and their Gadianton society, the prophecy of Samuel the Lamanite, the secret plans to put to death the believers of Samuel the Lamanite’s prophecies, the miraculous light that saved them, and the renewed faith in the Savior as the signs of his birth appeared in the heavens.

This series is a fictional story of Zemnariah, Kishkumen, and their Gadianton society, the prophecy of Samuel the Lamanite, the secret plans to put to death the believers of Samuel the Lamanite’s prophecies, the miraculous light that saved them, and the renewed faith in the Savior as the signs of his birth appeared in the heavens.

Duplicated by author. An analysis of the Book of Mormon text from a social anthropological viewpoint, which discusses how Nephite society was organized and functioned.

A discussion of war in the Book of Mormon. Reasons for Nephite successes and failures in war are cited.

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.

This chapter discusses the origins of Native Americans. It claims that in providing for a Hebraic origin of Native Americans, the Book of Mormon opens the door for other peoples, histories, and texts to be revealed.

Author declares he found several tribes that he classified as Nephite (because of their beauty, cleanliness, industry, virtues, and purity of national blood) among the American Indians, including the Zunio, Lagumas, and Isletas.

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.

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 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.

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.

From the time of Lehi’s departure from Jerusalem until their demise, the Nephites were continually migrating, perhaps traveling thousands of miles. Perhaps they considered themselves strangers in a land far from their original home.

The author of this article declares he found several tribes that he classified as Nephite (because of their beauty, cleanliness, industry, virtues, and purity of national blood) among the American Indians, including the Zunis, Lagumas, and Isletas.

There is no greater Christian experience than that of Nephi as recorded in 2 Nephi 4. Nephi traverses from the agony of spiritual battle with the hosts of darkness through various levels of assurance, obtaining relief, gratitude, then victory. Nephi’s conflict provides an example to missionaries who must look to God.

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 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.

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.

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.

3 Nephi 5, 9, and 10 describe how Nephi was chosen as the leader of the twelve disciples after Christ’s coming on the American Continent.

Giving many examples from the life of Nephi, the author states his impression to follow the example of Nephi.

A children’s story of Nephi getting the plates of brass from Laban.

Abstract: How long did it take Nephi to compose his portions of the “small account?” Careful text analysis and data mining suggest that “Nephi’s” texts may have been composed across periods as great as forty years apart. I propose a timeline with four distinct periods of composition. The merits of this timeline are weighed, and some thoughts are explored as to how this timeline alters the reader’s perceptions of Nephi. The net effect is that Nephi becomes more sympathetic, more personable, and more relatable as his record progresses and that the totality of Nephi’s writings are best understood and interpreted when the factor of time is considered. .

The character of Nephi is exempliied by his many accomplishments, skills, and relationships. He was a leader, son, and brother who possessed great love and inspired others. He was a craftsman and hunter who showed ingenuity, industry, and good sense.

The character of Nephi is exemplified by his many accomplishments, skills, and relationships. He was a leader, son, and brother who possessed great love and inspired others. He was a craftsman and hunter who showed ingenuity, industry, and good sense.

One of the principal themes of Nephi’s writings on the small plates is his desire to convince others of Christ. A second, related theme is his desire to write plain and precious things on those plates. Some of the most plain and precious writings of Nephi are those instances in which he used the name Christ in chiasmus or other forms of poetry. Perhaps more than any other portion of his words, Nephi intended these plain and precious writings to convince both Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the one true Messiah.

A narrative of Nephi’s return with his brothers to obtain the brass plates from Laban (1 Nephi 2-4).

Review of “Multiply Exceedingly: Book of Mormon Populations Sizes” (1993), by John C. Kunich

Abstract: A traditional reading of Nephi’s chronicle of the trek through Arabia relies heavily on two verses in 1 Nephi 17. In verse 4, Nephi states that they “did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, even eight years in the wilderness.” In verse 5, he reports that “we did come to the land which we called Bountiful.” The almost universal interpretation of these verses is that of sequential events: eight years traversing the arid desert of Western Arabia following which the Lehites entered the lush Bountiful for an unspecified time to build the ship. A question with the traditional reading is why a trip that could have taken eight months ostensibly took eight years. It may be that Nephi gave us that information. His “eight years” could be read as a general statement about one large context: the “wilderness” of all of Arabia. In other words, the “eight years in the wilderness” may have included both the time in the desert and the time in Bountiful. In this paper I examine the basis for such an alternative reading.

Abstract: This note explores a literary comparison between Nephi’s confronting of Laban and shrinking from the act of shedding blood, to Jesus’s experience in the Garden of Gethsemane of shrinking from the act of shedding blood. Comparing these two stories suggests that we can profitably read Nephi’s experience with Laban as Nephi’s personal Gethsemane.

Abstract: As John Gee noted two decades ago, Nephi is best explained as a form of the Egyptian word nfr, which by Lehi’s time was pronounced neh-fee, nay-fee, or nou-fee. Since this word means “good,” “goodly,” “fine,” or “fair,” I subsequently posited several possible examples of wordplay on the name Nephi in the Book of Mormon, including Nephi’s own autobiographical introduction (1 Nephi 1:1: “I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents … having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God”). It should be further pointed out, however, that Nephi also concludes his personal writings on the small plates using the terms “good” and “goodness of God.” This terminological bracketing constitutes a literary device, used anciently, called inclusio or an envelope figure. Nephi’s literary emphasis on “good” and “goodness” not only befits his personal name, but fulfills the Lord’s commandment, “thou shalt engraven many things … which are good in my sight” (2 Nephi 5:30), a command which also plays on the name Nephi. Nephi’s autobiographical introduction and conclusion proved enormously influential on subsequent writers who modeled autobiographical and narrative biographical introductions on 1 Nephi 1:1-2 and based sermons — especially concluding sermons — on Nephi’s “good” conclusion in 2 Nephi 33. An emphasis in all these sermons is that all “good”/“goodness” ultimately has its source in God and Christ.

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.

A three-foot sword excavated at Vered Jericho, likely dating to 620 BC, lends credence to the description of the sword of Laban in the Book of Mormon.

An interesting phenomenon concerning 1 and 2 Nephi is that parts of the latter book draw on the tree of life vision that Nephi and his father shared, as recorded in 1 Nephi 8, 11–15. In an earlier FARMS Update, John A. Tvedtnes demonstrated that Nephi drew on this vision when composing the psalm in 2 Nephi 4. Further study suggests the likelihood that Nephi’s exhortation in 2 Nephi 31 was similarly informed by that sublime vision.

Review of Joseph M. Spencer, 1 Nephi: A Brief Theological Introduction (Provo, UT: The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2020). 146 pages. $9.99 (paperback).
Abstract: Joseph Spencer’s intimate familiarity with the Book of Mormon text, based upon years of close textual study and informed by a well- developed theological sensibility, is in full evidence in this lead-off volume in Neal A. Maxwell Institute’s new series of books on the various books of the Book of Mormon. Leaving to prophets and apostles the responsibility for “declaring official doctrine,” this new series approaches the book with the tools of the “scholarly practice” of theology. In Spencer’s case at least, his practice is understood to be (1) informed by an emphasis on grace that is skeptical of claims of personal righteousness and (2) very much engaged with contemporary moral and social issues grounded in a fundamental concern for “equality.” Accordingly, Spencer’s reading is much more interested in “what God is doing in history with what we call the Abrahamic covenant” than with the more popular (non-scholarly) concerns of “everyday faithful living;” it is also more interested in Nephi’s “realistic” and “mature” regret over his youthful over-boldness than in his confident statements of righteous faith. In the end, Spencer’s extremely careful but theologically tendentious reading alerts us very skillfully to certain features of Nephi’s imperfect humanity but reveals a consistent preoccupation with any possible faults in the prophet that might be extracted from an ingenious reading of the text. Finally, concerning women in the Book of Mormon, Spencer again expertly raises provocative questions about barely heard female voices but is too eager to frame these questions from the standpoint of the “modern sensibility” of “sexual egalitarianism.”.

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.

1 Nephi 3:37-44 explains how Nephi desired to see the things his father saw. The angel asked if he believed that what his father saw was true. When Nephi replied positively the angel praised him for his faith in the Son of God. Faith and a desire to know the truth of what we hear produces answers to prayers.

Identifying the poetic forms in the Book of Mormon enables readers to appreciate its beautiful literary style and gain a better understanding of its message. The form-critical analysis of psalms, first outlined by Hermann Gunkel in 1926, demonstrates sharp similarities between Nephi’s psalm and similar psalms in the Old Testament. Nephi’s psalm plainly follows the format and substance of the individual lament as described by Gunkel and elaborated by numerous subsequent scholars. As in other instances of Hebrew poetic forms in the Book of Mormon, understanding and appreciating the psalm, more particularly the personal lament, can offer new insights into 2 Nephi 4:16–35 and make its message of hope and trust more powerful and personal.

A story for children about Nephi building a ship to cross the seas to the promised land. Illustrations included.

A detailed examination of the legal ramilications of Nephi’s execution of Laban.

Few passages in the Book of Mormon have inspired more criticism and moral outrage than the account of Nephi slaying the unconscious figure of Laban. Many point to this episode as evidence against the Book of Mormon being an inspired document. In this study we will attempt to examine the legal as well as the extra-legal ramifications of this incident. Since the law of ancient Israel was inexorably tied to the religious and moral code of the Israelites, any attempt to divorce the two would be patently artificial. Therefore, while this study will emphasize what we know about the operation of justice, that, by necessity implies a discussion of Israel’s relationship to her lawgiver, Yahweh. In analyzing this slaying, a determination must be made of which Hebrew law codes would most likely have applied during Nephi’s time. The Book of Mormon places the slaying between 592 and 598 B.C.1 The primary sources for Hebrew law of that time are the law codes of the Old Testament. They are three in number: the Code of the Covenant (Exodus 21-23:33), the Deuteronomic Code (which includes Deuteronomy 19), and the Priestly Code (which includes Numbers 35). Although there is some difference of opinion among scholars about the compilation dates of these various codes, the general consensus is that the Code of the Covenant was compiled before 800 B.C., the Deuteronomic Code around 700 B.C., and the Priestly Code in about 350 B.C.5 Comparing these dates to the date of slaying, it can be seen that the Code of the Covenant and the Deuteronomic Code were in existence before the time of the slaying and date in roughly the same time period as the slaying. The Priestly Code, however, was compiled after the exile in Babylon and almost 250 years after the slaying.

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.

Abstract: Did Nephi intentionally use chiasmus in his writings? An analysis of fifteen multi-level chiasm candidates in Nephi’s writings demonstrates a high statistical probability (99%+) that the poetic form was used intentionally by Nephi but only during two specific writing periods. This finding is buttressed by further analysis, which reveals a clear and unexpected literary pattern for which Nephi seems to have reserved his usage of chiasmus. The nature of obedience is a major theme in Nephi’s writings, and he regularly employed chiasms to explore the topic early in his writings. After a period during which he discontinued use of the technique, he returned to the poetic device toward the end of his life to signal a significant shift in his thoughts on the topic of obedience.

In many places in the Book of Mormon, the authors refer to writings known to them but not included in the book. One of these is the record of Lehi. Nephi reported that he made “an abridgment of the record of my father” (1 Nephi 1:17), which he included on his own original (large) plates. An English translation of that abridgment was included in the 116 pages of manuscript translation lost by Martin Harris in 1828. Someday we will have that record restored; meanwhile, we can discover some of what it contained because both Nephi and Jacob included parts from it in their records.

Readers should be aware that both Khor Kharfot and Wadi Sayq are now protected sites under Omani law. Neither area can be visited without a permit issued by the government of Oman. They are not accessible by road at any point. Please contact the author if further clarification is needed. Abstract: In May 2022, George Potter published an article that makes the most comprehensive case to date that Khor Rori in southern Oman is the most likely location for the place “Bountiful” described by Nephi. However, despite its many positives, there are a number of reasons to question the suitability of Khor Rori and to favor the other major candidate for Bountiful, Khor Kharfot. I propose that a careful reading of Nephi’s account coupled with recent discoveries based on field work show Khor Kharfot to be a superior candidate meeting all criteria we can extract from the text. To support a thorough comparison, aspects of both candidates are weighed, including pictorial comparisons of key features. I am in full agreement with Potter that with the entire eastern coast of Arabia now explored, only two candidates for Bountiful remain in contention — Khor Rori and Khor Kharfot. No other location still merits serious consideration.

Abstract: Many Book of Mormon students are aware that several locations along Lehi’s Trail through the Arabian Peninsula now have surprising and impressive evidence of plausibility, including the River Laman, Valley of Lemuel, Nahom, and Bountiful. One specific named location that has received much less attention is Shazer, a brief hunting stop mentioned in only two verses. After reviewing the potential etymology of the name, Warren Aston provides new information from discoveries made during field work in late 2019 at the prime candidate for the Valley of Lemuel, discoveries that lead to new understanding about the path to Shazer. Contrary to previous assumptions about Lehi’s journey, Aston shows there was no need to backtrack through the Valley of Lemuel to begin the “south-southeast” journey toward Shazer. It appears that Nephi’s description of crossing the river from the family’s campsite and then going south-southeast toward Shazer is exactly what can be done from the most likely candidate for a campsite in the most likely candidate for the Valley of Lemuel. In light of fieldwork and further information, Aston also reviews the merits of several locations that have been proposed for Shazer and points to a fully plausible, even probable, location for Shazer. The account of Shazer, like Nahom, the River of Laman/Valley of Lemuel, and Bountiful, may now be a fourth Arabian pillar anchoring and supporting the credibility of the Book of Mormon’s Old World account.
And it came to pass that we did take our tents
and depart into the wilderness, across the river Laman.
And it came to pass that we traveled for the space of four days,
nearly a south-southeast direction,
and we did pitch our tents again;
and we did call the name of the place Shazer.
And it came to pass that we did take our bows and our arrows,
and go forth into the wilderness to slay food for our families;
and after we had slain food for our families
we did return again to our families in the wilderness,
to the place of Shazer.
—1 Nephi 16:12-14.

Review of George B. Handley, If Truth Were A Child: Essays, (Provo, Utah: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2019), 253 pp. $19.99 (paperback).
Abstract: George B. Handley challenges his readers to reevaluate conventional definitions of truth and the approaches they employ to define their own truths. He argues that the individual quest for truth should include as many available resources as possible, whether those resources are secular or religious. His framework of intellectual and religious experience allows him to discuss truth in the context of literary theory and of the events that shaped his own faith. My review focuses on four themes: balancing experience and learning, balancing the individual and the community, balancing answers and faith, and balancing individual readings of holy texts. Ultimately, Handley’s discussion of those themes gives readers the tools to navigate the current public discourse more effectively, empowering them to look beyond their own perspectives to discover the good in everyone and find balance in their lives.

A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts. These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well. That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.

Two Egyptian shawabti-figurines, reputedly discovered in Acajutla, El Salvador, in 1914, are likely forgeries. Had they been authentic, they might have helped to establish cultural contact between Egypt and Mesoameria.

“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]

Review of The Book of Mormon: Restored Covenant Edition (1999), by Zarahemla Research Foundation

Reprinted in The Prophetic Book of Mormon.
Vividly displays internal and external evidences to test whether the Book of Mormon is or is not a forgery, using the standard scholarly criteria for detecting forged writings. Very insightful comments on methodology for studying the Book of Mormon, evaluating evidence, using newly discovered documents, metal plates, literary criticism, poetry, lower criticism, and history. Also comments on animals, weights and measures, and the use of the Bible in the Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon is a prophetic book. It was written by prophets and about prophets. It was foreseen by prophets and foresees our day. It was brought forth by prophetic gifts for prophetic purposes. It speaks in a clarion voice of warning to those who would survive the last days. The articles in this volume, brought together under one cover for the first time, approach the Book of Mormon through a variety of prophetic themes. They speak out incisively on such topics as the prophecy of Ezekiel 37, internal and external evidences of the divine origin of the Book of Mormon, literary style in the Book of Mormon, ancient temples and the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Mormon’s teachings for the last days.

Contains articles by several authors: Anthony A. Hutchinson, Dan Vogel, Mark D. Thomas, Melodie Moench Charles, Stan Larson, David P. Wright, Deanne G. Matheny, Edward H. Ashment, and Brent Lee Metcalf. This is a scholarly attempt to “expand appreciation of Mormon scripture through critical analysis” This work is reviewed in G.058, T.338, W.154, B.230, and in S.215.

Reprinted in CWHN 8:54-126. Vividly displays internal and external evidences to test whether the Book of Mormon is or is not a forgery, using the standard scholarly criteria for detecting forged writings. Very insightful comments on methodology for studying the Book of Mormon, evaluating evidence, using newly discovered documents, metal plates, literary criticism, poetry, lower criticism, and history. Also comments on animals, weights and measures, and the use of the Bible in the Book of Mormon.

Aided by creative techniques, Ajáx Moreno carefully prepared more accurate, detailed renderings of the Izapa monuments, including Stela 5, with its complex scenes of gods and other supernatural creatures, royalty, animals invested with mythic and value symbolism, and mortals. The author raises relevant questions about reconciling Jakeman’s view with the new drawing: Are there Old World connections? Can Izapa be viewed as a Book of Mormon city? Did the Nephites know of Lehi’s dream? Are there name glyphs on the stela? The scene, if it does not depict Lehi’s dream, fits clearly in Mesoamerican art in theme, style, technical execution, and meaning. The basic theme of Stela 5 may be the king as intercessor with the gods on behalf of his people.

A significant collection of data on the Spaulding manuscript. Asserts that there are many resemblances between the Spaulding manuscript and the Book of Mormon. Gives a history of the Spaulding manuscript itself, and a useful bibliography of sources dealing with this theory of Book of Mormon origins.

In conjunction with the recent BYU symposium “Oliver Cowdery: Restoration Witness, Second Elder,” the Maxwell Institute has published Oliver Cowdery: Scribe, Elder, Witness, edited by John W. Welch and Larry E. Morris. This book includes 17 important articles previously published by BYU Studies or FARMS and covers virtually all periods of Oliver Cowdery’s life.

A new book from FARMS offers a world of information about the New Testament and its background. Charting the New Testament contains scores of charts, tables, and graphs, each with helpful explanatory and reference materials in a reader-friendly format. Covering a wide array of topics-from the ancient Jewish setting of the New Testament and the world of the Greeks and Romans in which the activities of Jesus and his apostles took place to detailed analysis of the scriptural text itself-the book offers an extensive overview of matters doctrinal, literary, and historical. A companion volume to Charting the Book of Mormon, this handy resource is designed with both the student and the teacher in mind.

John W. Welch has studied two main topics throughout his career: the law and the Book of Mormon. Welch, a professor of law at Brigham Young University and the founder of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, has now prepared the culminating volume of decades of research into the trials and other legal procedures in the Book of Mormon. The Maxwell Institute is pleased to announce its publication as The Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon.

The tree of life, an ancient and richly evocative symbol found in sacred art, architecture, and literature throughout the world, is the intriguing subject of a new book published by the Maxwell Institute and Deseret Book: The Tree of Life: From Eden to Eternity, edited by BYU professors John W. Welch and Donald W. Parry.

Explores geographical/historical/archaeological implications of Lehi’s journey out of Jerusalem. Says hostile Arabs prevented a journey through inhabited areas.

Nephi and his brothers referred to Jerusalem as “that great city” (1 Nephi 2:13). Their opposing views about it became a point of contention that tore Lehi’s family in two, and their memories of it influenced the cultural perspective of their descendants in the New World for dozens of generations. The people known as Lamanites longed after it as a lost paradise and named one of their lands of settlement in its honor (Alma 21:1). Among the Nephites it exemplified the dire consequences of unbelief (Helaman 8:20). But what was the Jerusalem of Lehi’s day really like?

The author serendipitously discovered a stream east of the Gulf of Aqaba that seems to share the physical features of Lehi’s “river of water” that “emptied into the Red Sea” and was “continually running.” The river Laman ran through the valley of Lemuel, described as “firm, steadfast, and immovable.” The stream and the canyon seem to fulfill the conditions of the river of Laman and the valley of Lemuel.

Review of David G. Calderwood. Voices from the Dust: New Insights into Ancient America.

At about the time Lehi left Jerusalem, Jeremiah propheised that a new covenant would be given to Israel. Discusses the “new covenant” between Lehi and the Lord and the restoration of that covenant in the latter days.

Weldon asks for Book of Mormon research assistants to assist with archaeological research and investigations about Hebraisms and other Book of Mormon topics. The monumental effort of gathering Book of Mormon evidence is one that requires many contributors.

Recently the Brigham Young University administration announced the appointment of Professor Paul Y. Hoskisson as the new director of the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies and the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies at the Maxwell Institute, effective September 1. Professor S. Kent Brown, who previously headed up these operations, retired from the university at the end of August.

Journey of Faith: The New World premiered to large audiences at BYU Education Week in a sneak preview. S. Kent Brown, director of the newly formed Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies and one of the lead historical consultants on the documentary, and Peter N. Johnson, director, hosted the premier. A number of people returned for a second viewing because of the sweep of information in the film. “Packing a long history into 80 or 90 minutes of film presented a huge challenge to the filmmakers,” Johnson said. The new film enjoys the sponsorship of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship and the Willes Center.

Journey of Faith: The New World, a new Maxwell Institute documentary, is set to premier at BYU Campus Education Week in August. The Maxwell Institute has again teamed with award-winning Latter-day Saint filmmaker Peter Johnson to produce a documentary that will explore the Book of Mormon in the New World.

Reports on the progress of publishing a new edition of the Book of Mormon and asks for financial assistance from the reader.

This article cites the studies of numerous scientists and anthropologists (especially Thor Heyerdahl) that seem to confirm the general LDS belief that Polynesians migrated from the Americas.

Current research shows many parallels in the use of incense in Old and New World religious rituals, and a connection is seen in the use of “seer stones”

Likens Mayan “sac-tuns” or holy stones used for prophecy to the Urim and Thummim, and sees the sac-tuns as evidence for the manner in which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon. These are evidence that true seer stones spoken of in the Book of Mormon existed. Joseph Smith translated the plates using a word-for-word translation using these precious instruments of the Lord.

Review of New Evidences of Christ in Ancient America (1999), by Blaine M. Yorgason, Bruce W. Warren, and Harold Brown

After attending a conference on the Dead Sea Scrolls the author suggests that the Dead Sea Scrolls are some of the other books mentioned in 1 Nephi 13:38-41.

In some twenty pages (pages 240-61) of this polemical work the author discounts the Spaulding Theory on the grounds that the Manuscript Found has little resemblance to the Book of Mormon. Unable to accept Joseph Smith’s own claims, the author favors Woodbridge Riley’s environmental-psychological hypothesis as the best explanation for the Book of Mormon. He notes alleged modernisms and anachronisms in the book such as the use of New Testament and King James language, Westminster Confession of faith, Shakespeare, pre-Columbian domesticated animals, and the proposition of new and continual revelation.

By having the Book of Mormon fund included with the tithing and fast offering slip, the First Presidency hopes to increase donations for the Book of Mormon fund.

This pamphlet purports that Spaulding was the original author of the Book of Mormon.

This pamphlet, written as a conversation between “James Anxious” and his “cousin Henry,” discusses the Book of Mormon and refutes the validity of the story by asserting that the book was written by Rev. Solomon Spaulding. Questions the Liahona, the Urim and Thummim, and the New and Everlasting Covenant.

For children, cartoon story of the animosity that Laman and Lemuel felt toward Nephi, and Nephi’s need to leave and find a new home after Lehi’s death. Depicts the way the records were kept by Lehi, Nephi, Jacob, and Enos.

An illustrated story for children about the Nephites and Lamanites after they arrived at the promised land.

Quotes several passages from A. Hyatt Verrill, Old Civilizations of the New World wherein Verrill writes that archaeology does not reveal a primitive culture that gradually evolved to a higher state. Verrill wonders at the technological abilities of the ancient Americans and maintains that they probably used steel. Evidence of the wheel is presented and a discovery of Greek- and Phoenician-inscribed pottery near the Amazon. These evidences support the Book of Mormon.

The writers of the Book of Mormon emphasized that Lehi was a descendant of Joseph because they knew that the tribe of Joseph would be the means of saving the rest of the house of Israel in the last days. Those of the lineage of Ephraim and Manasseh will work together as the tribe of Joseph in the last days.

An official announcement regarding a new edition of the Book of Mormon, having a new print type, two columns, chapter headings, book and chapter designations, footnote reference revisions, a synopsis of the chapters, a pronouncing vocabulary, and an index.

This article is an official announcement regarding a new edition of the Book of Mormon, having a new print type, two columns, chapter headings, book and chapter designations, footnote reference revisions, a synopsis of the chapters, a pronouncing vocabulary, and an index.

An official announcement regarding a new edition of the Book of Mormon, having a new print type, two columns, chapter headings, book and chapter designations, footnote reference revisions, a synopsis of the chapters, a pronouncing vocabulary, and an index.

Joseph Smith’s Translation of the Bible: Electronic Library brings together a wealth of information and recent scholarship on Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible. The electronic library, produced by the Religious Studies Center and the Maxwell Institute, also includes high-resolution images of every page of the original manuscripts, images and transcriptions of the earliest copies made from those manuscripts, and a collection of recently published studies based on the manuscripts. A short introductory essay precedes each manuscript. This collection also includes the entire 851-page book Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts, edited by Scott H. Faulring, Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews.

Announcing a new leather case made to hold the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon. Includes a history of the original manuscript.

The Smithsonian statement about the Book of Mormon has been revised to indicate that the “Book of Mormon is a religious document and not a scientific guide.” James E. Talmage correctly identified various Michigan relics as fraudulent.

Recent genetic studies indicate that Polynesians were connected to ancient America. Careful reading of native sources led European scholar Michel Graulich to conclude that pre-Columbian Americans held beliefs that may arise out of the Christian tradition. Whether he or those he opposes are correct, the caution to allow more than one interpretative stance remains appropriate. Interpretations of scriptural history are possibly “contingent upon the theoretical inclinations” of the investigators. The historical process of the Anufo people of the Ivory Coast territory suggests how “robbers” or “secret societies” could have grown to be players on the sociopolitical scene in Mesoamerica.

Richardson Benedict Gill’s book The Great Maya Droughts: Water, Life, and Death provides substantial evidence of the natural physical events that occurred in Mesoamerica. These events are comparable to events recorded in the Book of Mormon.

Discusses the origin of the early inhabitants of America, Jaredite movements, the Mulekite migration, archaeological evidences that support the Book of Mormon, Jesus Christ among the ancient Americas, stories of Quetzalcoatl, and possible Book of Mormon lands and sites.

A polemical work on Mormonism. Pages 237-67 contain numerous affidavits relative to the Spaulding hypothesis.

Sidney Rigdon placed a manuscript in Smith’s hands to proclaim as the Book of Mormon. This conspiracy was contrived by Rigdon and the manuscript was a revised edition of Solomon Spaulding’s manuscript.

The account of the journey of Lehi’s family through the wilderness mentions one local name, Nahom, where Ishmael was buried. The discovery of the tribal name NHM on three altars from the seventh and sixth centuries BC provides a likely location for that stopping point on their trip. This site is located at the bend of the incense trail that went in the opposite direction of Lehi’s group—westward to NHM and then turning northward.

Reports of an underwater city off the island of Cuba have caused many Latter-day Saints to believe that the city is a remnant of a Book of Mormon city. However, archaeologists have not found any reason to support that idea.

Hardy hypothesizes that the misplacement of Alma 13:16 (which, he proposes, actually belongs three verses earlier) is an example of a mistake in handwriting and copying known as homoeoteleuton.

The Book of Mormon prophet Lehi received a vision commonly referred to as the tree of life. Within that vision, he observes a building that he describes as “strange.” A possible reason Lehi labels it this way is that the architecture of the building was dissimilar to the architecture popular in Jerusalem at the time. The building in Lehi’s dream was plausibly structured similar to the buildings found in south Arabia during Lehi’s time. By studying the architectural styles of Jerusalem and south Arabia, one can better evaluate and understand the vision of the tree of life.

Berrett discusses point by point reasons why an ancient burial complex at Khirbet Beit Lei, sometimes called “Lehi’s cave,” is unlikely to have Book of Mormon connections. Brown describes a carved altar inscribed to the tribe Nihm discovered in the southwest Arabian peninsula (Yemen)—this location may be the place Nahom where Nephi’s father-in-law, Ishmael, was buried, according to the Book of Mormon record. The characters on the Anthon transcript reportedly taken by Martin Harris to New York to show to Professor Charles Anthon bear resemblance to characters on two Mexican seals made of baked clay. Szink identifies another possible Semitic source for the name Alma in the tablets of Ebla uncovered in Syria.

An Approach to the Book of Abraham, volume 18 in the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, is now avail­ able. This volume contains Nibley’s early work on the Book of Abraham and the Joseph Smith Papyri and is his closest look at Facsimile 1 of the Book of Abraham. In chapter 5, Nibley is at his best as he has Mr. Jones, the curator, conduct Dick and Jane through an imaginary museum in which the most important lion­couch scenes have all been gathered together in a single hall. Mr. Jones possesses a hand­ book that tells him all. In a conversational manner, he discusses the various figures of Facsimile 1, call­ing upon the best Egyptological knowledge of the time to explain their importance and setting.