Review of Fathers and Sons in the Book of Mormon (1991), by E. Douglas Clark and Robert S. Clark.

Review of Fathers and Sons in the Book of Mormon (1991), by E. Douglas Clark and Robert S. Clark.

Review of The Grand Design: America from Columbus to Zion (1992), by E. Douglas Clark.

Review of The Lands of Zarahemla (1993), by E. L. Peay.

Review of Christ's Answer to the Atheist, to the Jew: Who Wrote It? (1987), by Earl W. Carlsen.

Review of Scott H. Faulring, Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith's New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts.

The most extensive collection of writings about the Book of Mormon published between 1829 and 1844 has been made available as an online database. The collection, 19th-Century Publications about the Book of Mormon (1829–1844), includes nearly 600 publications and close to one million words of text. It is intended to comprise, insofar as possible, everything published during Joseph Smith’s lifetime relating to the Book of Mormon. Under the auspices of Digital Collections at Brigham Young University’s Harold B. Lee Library, this ambitious project can be accessed at lib.byu.edu/dlib/bompublications.

Hugh Nibley begins by showing the interrelatedness of ancient records, regardless of their origin, a phenomenon called “pattemism.” He proposes that Joseph Smith presented the world with authentic ancient records. The Prophet brought forth many of the same concepts that are found in ancient temple libraries, such as the council in heaven during the premortal period, the casting out of Satan, the doctrine of the “two ways,” the fallen nature of mankind, and the need for a redeemer. Accompanying the doctrines is a body of rites or ordinances, and Nibley gives special attention to the Nag Hammadi documents.

Originally published as an article in BYU Studies in 1978.
Draws upon a host of sources and shows certain parallels between an early Christian form of prayer and that of the Latter-day Saint prayer circle.

A practice that was eventually condemned by the church because of its Jewish affinities—being found, for example, in the Testaments of Abraham and Job and in the writings of Philo—the prayer circle has a long and complex history in Christian practice. This practice was considered one of the “ mysteries” and therefore was protected from all who weren’t initiated. For the initiated participants, this was a very sacred practice, which demanded unity between all those involved. The prayer circle, generally referred to as a “ dance,” often included hymns, prayers for the living and the dead, and gestures that would prepare the participants for heavenly visitations.

This text, from a Christian “Book of Breathings,” highlights the importance of the prayer circle in early Christian worship.

Patriarch Tarasius and various bishops and monks condemn the Acts of John, in which an account of the early Christian prayer circle is recorded.

If God is good, why does he permit evil to exist? People through the ages have wrestled with this philosophical question, often called simply “the problem of evil.” The Bible contains one of the earliest works to address it-the book of Job.

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.

One of the great lessons to be drawn from the Islamic world of the Middle Ages is that in order for people of varying faiths and persuasions to coexist peacefully, it is not necessary that significant differences between them be settled or even downplayed. Islamic society was vibrant with debate and ideological rivalry. But there was a framework of tolerance that allowed for these differences while preserving basic modes for coexistence. For example, the Islamic caliphates (beginning in the seventh century and continuing into the early modern period) treated the Jews and Christians living within their domains as ahl al-kitab (“People of the Book”), a Qur’anic designation that recognized that these communities, too, worshipped the God of Abraham and had at least part of his truth revealed to them and recorded in their scriptures—the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, respectively. Therefore, these non-Muslims, though not accorded the same legal or social status as Muslims, were nevertheless allowed to practice their religions freely and openly and to participate in the pursuit of knowledge.

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 Recent Book of Mormon Developments: Articles from the Zarahemla Record, vol. 2 (1992), edited by Raymond C. Treat.

Also available for free at BYU ScholarsArchive.
A review of Lehi in the Desert, The World of the Jaredites, There Were Jaredites, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 5.

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.

From 1830 to the present those who find it difficult to accept “angelic visitations in the age of railroads” have searched Joseph Smith’s nineteenth-century environment for sources of the subject matter of the Book of Mormon. For example, in 1990 Susan Curtis explains the economic subthemes of the book as Joseph Smith’s commentary on “market capitalism.” But the economic conditions of Joseph Smith’s time and place are not reflected in the Book of Mormon. Its economic descriptions are consistent with our vast knowledge of the economic conditions of the ancient Middle East and not inconsistent with the little known of the economics of Mesoamerica of the relevant time period. Those more comfortable with Joseph Smith as universal commentator on the issues of his day would be well advised to ignore economics or limit that topic to the Doctrine and Covenants. Those who accept him as translator of ancient scriptural documents can gain additional reassurance from the economics of the Book of Mormon.

Introduction to the current volume.

Introduction to the current issue.

Introduction to the current issue.

Introduction to the current issue, including editor's picks. Peterson examines “terminological trickiness” and lexical games, particularly as A. A. Howsepian employs them in a recent article in the distinguished journal Religious Studies.

Introduction to the current issue.

Introduction to the first issue of the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies.

Summary of current issue.

Summary of current issue.

Introduction to the current issue.

Introduction to the items reviewed and main issues discussed in this issue.

Introduction to this special issue of Sidney B. Sperry’s Book of Mormon writings.

Introduction to the current issue, including editor's picks.

Introduction to current issue.

Introduction to the current issue.

Introduction to the current issue.

Introduction to the current issue.

Building on the metaphor of a garden, Midgley introduces the reviews and articles of this issue; he deals specifically with geographical issues, in particular the Heartland model.

Mitton highlights a few seventeenth-century prophecies concerning the last days and uses that background information to explain the outlook that many people today have on modern revelation.

Midgley shares a missionary experience in New Zealand in which he was confronted about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He then discusses the evolution of the evangelical movement and the problematic nature of engaging in heated debates about religion. While he encourages Latter-day Saints to defend their faith, he insists that they can do so with civility toward and respect for other beliefs.

Peterson refutes the views of atheist Christopher Hitchens, who takes a stance against religion and various well-known religious icons.

Midgley explains the need for people to learn about and come to know Joseph Smith as the man who restored the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth.

Introduction to the current issue, including editor’s picks. Recent research supporting the authenticity of the Book of Mormon includes evidence that the book was, as witnesses claimed, orally dictated; that its opening chapters accurately depict the ancient Near East in details unknown in Joseph Smith’s day; and that many of its expressions and word meanings had disappeared from English before 1700. Such evi-dence argues against claims that the Book of Mormon was memorized or otherwise cribbed from another document.

Introduction to the current issue, including editor’s picks. Midgley discusses countercultists who oppose Mormonism and who consider it “counterfeit Christianity.”

Peterson mourns the death of his friend and colleague R. Davis Bitton. Peterson then uses Richard Bushman’s Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling to examine the validity of Joseph Smith’s claim to be a prophet.

Introduction to the current issue, including editor’s picks. Midgley explores such topics as Tertullian’s distinction between human wisdom and the “wisdom of God”; Augustinian traditions; evangelical and Roman Catholic views of God; Calvinism; freedom; and Book of Mormon teachings on redemption.

Peterson argues that despite what some critics claim, the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) is not confined to publishing only apologetic texts and is able to claim academic legiti-macy for itself.

Peterson explains that disbelief in the religious does not leave a person who believes in nothing; it leaves a person who is willing to believe in anything except God. Peterson also mentions that from an academic standpoint he cannot explain the coming forth of the Book of Mormon in any way other than that which is presented by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

A history of the Review, including editorial philosophy, range of content, title changes, important contributions, and commitment to vigorous and learned discourse on aspects of Latter-day Saint thought and practice.

Introduction to the current issue, including editor’s picks. Peterson surmises what the assumptions of the forthcoming book American Apocrypha will be. The statements of the Book of Mormon witnesses must be taken seriously, and the work of Royal Skousen reveals a stunningly consistent, systematic, and complex book. Keith Norman’s dissertation on deification and Jordan Vajda’s master’s thesis on divinization note parallels with early doctrines of theosis. Joseph Smith’s mission consisted of making clear that which was formerly hidden.

This essay expands upon remarks first delivered in the closing session of the twelfth annual conference of the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR), which was held 5–6 August 2010, in Sandy, Utah. That accounts for the hortatory tone of the last portion of the essay, which is atypical of the FARMS Review. In this expanded form, it responds to some of the comments, mostly online, that followed my August presentation.

Introduction to the current issue, including editor’s picks. Mitton explains the need to address anti-Mormon texts and their authors, beginning in the early days of the church. It is important to give attention to Joseph’s own explanation and that of his close associates.

Peterson discusses the growth of the Mormon religion and scholarly indifference toward that growth. He discusses the power of presuppositions and the variance of opinions, using the Qur’an as a case study. The originality, literary merit, and intrinsic merit of the Book of Mormon increase our appreciation for that book.

Introduction to the current issue, as well as editor's picks. Peterson discusses the theory of evolution, the historicity of Christ's resurrection, and the techniques used by Jerald and Sandra Tanner in their research.

Introduction to the current issue, including editor’s picks. Peterson publishes his remarks given at a debate organized under the auspices of the Society of Evangelical Philosophers. Basically, he believes that the very choice of “theology” as a focus of the debate grants an importance to that particular area of intellectual activity that Latter-day Saints and early Christians do not share with more sophisticated critics. Organizations attempting a “ministry of reconciliation” instead appear to attack.

Introduction to the current issue, including editor’s pick. Peterson explores the world of anit-Mormon writing and fiction.

Introduction to the current issue, including editor’s picks. Peterson discusses brief items having to do with the appearance of the phrase and it came to pass in books of scripture and with the “newspaper” handed out at the dedication of the Bountiful Temple that discusses doctrines Mormons must believe if they are to be deemed Christian.

Peterson and others defend the Church and the Book of Mormon against critics although they would prefer to write affirmatively about “the endlessly fascinating, rich, profound, and glorious” gospel.

Introduction to the current issue, including editor’s picks. Peterson discusses the so-called Galileo event that some Book of Mormon critics believe will soon occur, thus expanding the separation between reli-gion and science until religion subsides to science. He also addresses the lack of Near Eastern culture among Native Americans, a common argument against the authenticity of the Book of Mormon

Introduction to the current issue, including editor’s picks. Our expectations and presuppositions lead us to see what we want to see.

Introduction to the current issue, including editor's picks. Peterson poses and answers fourteen “questions not asked” for readers of the FARMS Review of Books. Louis Midgley and George L. Mitton have been appointed as associate editors for the FARMS Review.

Peterson relates his understanding of a dispute between FARMS and Signature Books about matters of free inquiry and intellectual (dis)honesty.

Introduction to the current issue, including editor’s picks. A Protestant historian’s ideas about the durability of Mormonism—if it can survive the critical scrutiny of its foundational events—invite discussion of how secularism, cultural Mormonism, atheism, scientism, countercult anti-Mormonism, and other forms of intellectualism seek to disparage the faith of Latterday Saints.

Introduction to the current issue. For the first time, the Review features an article critical of the truth-claims of the restored gospel and of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Introduction to the current issue, including editor’s picks. So-called biblical scholarship is supposed to be able to differentiate between authors of various texts. A test devised by students for their professor showed some of the flaws of those methods. Though critics complain about the lack of archaeological evidence supporting the Book of Mormon, even the Bible has few archaeological supports.

Introduction to the current issue, as well as editor’s picks. Peterson discusses two incorrect “traditions of men”—that Latter-day Saints believe the atonement of Jesus Christ covers only the transgression of Adam but not our sins and that Latter-day Saints are forbidden to think for themselves. Early statements from eyewitnesses confirm the Book of Mormon.

Introduction to the current issue, including editor’s picks. Peterson discusses the status of Christian churches in 1820, an offer to debate Ed Decker, the quest for the historical Jesus through the Jesus Seminar and the implications of that type of scholarship on Mormonism: “Agnostic or radically revisionist critics of the restored Gospel, and fundamentalist Protestant anti-Mormons, tend to converge, united despite their other differences by their disbelief in the founding narratives and sacred scriptures of the Restoration.”

A slightly different version of this essay was first presented at the 2002 conference of the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR; see www.fair-lds.org), in Provo, Utah. It represents a sketch for what I hope will eventually become a more detailed study of the varying counterexplanations that have been offered for the Book of Mormon.

Introduction to the current issue, including editor’s picks. Peterson discusses Peter Elias, Amasa Lyman, and the techniques of contemporary anti-Mormonism.

Introduction to the current issue, include editor's picks. Latter-day Saints appear to approach theology and history in ways that fit remarkably well into the Hebrew thought-world from which Christianity emerged rather than from the Hellenization that eventually emerged.

Introduction to the current issue.

Introduction to this issue.

Introduction to the current issue.

The introduction to this issue is a discussion of the emphasis of the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies as defined by the editors.

Introduction to the current issue.

Introduction to the current issue and the new editorial team.

Summary of current issue.

Introduction to the current issue.

Introduction to the current issue.

Introduction to the current issue.

Summary of current issue.

Summary of current issue.

Summary of current issue.

Summary of current issue.

The editor gives a brief history of the Journal and gives his vision for the future of the publication.

Summary of current issue.

Summary of current issue.

Summary of current issue.

Summary of current issue and a letter to the editor.

The plausibility of the attempted offering of Abraham by a priest of pharaoh and the existence of human sacrifice in ancient Egypt have been questioned and debated. This paper presents strong evidence that ritual slaying did exist among ancient Egyptians, with a particular focus on its existence in the Middle Kingdom. It details three individual evidences of human sacrifice found in ancient Egypt. Four different aspects of the attempted offering of Abraham are compared to these Egyptian evidences to illustrate how the story of Abraham fits with the picture of ritual slaying in Middle Kingdom Egypt.

A recent issue of a popular journal on ancient Egypt discusses a number of sheets of gold foil incised with Egyptian writing. These artifacts provide some interesting parallels to the Book of Mormon.

Review of Stan Larson. Quest for the Gold Plates: Thomas Stuart Ferguson’s Archaeological Search for the Book of Mormon.

Review of Frederick Babbel. On Wings of Faith: My Daily Walk with a Prophet.

Defining his purpose as exploring “the relationship between the life of the mind and the life of the spirit, with some connection to Elder Maxwell’s life as a mentoring model,” Elder Bruce C. Hafen, of the First Quorum of the Seventy, spoke at the second annual Neal A. Maxwell Lecture, held March 21, 2008.

Review of Book of Mormon: Wide-Margin Edition (1987), by Eldin Ricks.

Review of Eldin Ricks's Thorough Concordance of LDS Standard Works (1995), by Eldin Ricks.

Review of Grant Hardy, ed. The Book of Mormon: A Reader’s Edition.

Brian Stubbs offers findings that point to Hebrew as an ancestor language of the Uto-Aztecan language family. He discusses orthography and pronunciation, pre-Masoretic vowelings, sound correspondences, verb morphologies, and pronouns. He indicates that while there are similarities between the two languages, much non-Semitic morphology suggests that creolization is part of the history of most Uto-Aztecan languages.

This article discusses how a population’s number of pure-blooded individuals can diminish drastically to only a few percent in a few hundred years. This information suggests that it is difficult and perhaps impossible to draw any definite conclusions concerning the genetics of Native Americans in relation to the people spoken of in the Book of Mormon.

As specified by revelation, one of the responsibilities given to Emma Smith was to select hymns for the church. However, almost immediately after the revelation was given, tension arose as to who should compile the hymnbook and what its nature should be. This eventually led to more than one “official” hymn book for the church—the 1840 hymnbook created by the Quorum of the Twelve during their mission in England and Emma’s 1841 hymnbook. Whereas the apostles’ hymnbook focused mainly on restoration, millennial, and missionary topics, Emma’s felt more Protestant, focusing in many instances on the cross, the blood of Jesus, and grace. With the departure of the Saints from Nauvoo and Emma’s choice to remain behind, however, it was ultimately the apostles’ hymn book that was in a position to shape the hymnody for the present-day church.

Thomas W. Brookbank long ago suggested that enallage, meaning the substitution of the singular for the plural or vice versa for rhetorical effect, is present in the Book of Mormon. Enallage does appear to exist as a prominent, meaningful rhetorical figure in the Bible, but its presence in the Book of Mormon is more difficult to demonstrate given the pronominal variation found in the Book of Mormon, a factor that Brookbank did not account for in his study. Nevertheless, a careful reading of contextual and verbal clues reveals that enallage does indeed appear to exist in some passages in the Book of Mormon. An awareness of this usage is important for a full understanding of such passages.

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.

Photographic presentation of Book of Mormon editions in English.

Review of George W. E. Nickelsburg. 1 Enoch 1: A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch, Chapters 1–36; 81–108

Ephrem the Syrian, who died in ad 373 in Edessa, wrote one of earliest extant commentaries on Genesis and Exodus. In this commentary he weaves a new biblical story by selecting from both the narrative background and foreground—not in an arbitrary way, but as a very deliberate process. One of the new themes that Ephrem weaves into his retelling is the unwavering righteousness and spiritual receptiveness of the patriarchal wives.

Having studied Janne Sjodahl’s work on the number of plates required for the original Book of Mormon text, John Gee examines the potential drawbacks of Sjodahl’s experiment. He concludes that the size of Miller’s script suffices for Sjodahl’s test.

The claim that a personal letter in the Book of Mormon mimics a form indicative of modern rather than ancient composition is critiqued. The majority of letters in the Book of Mormon follow the ancient Hittite-Syrian, Neo-Assyrian, Amarna, and Hebrew epistolary format in which the correspondent of superior rank is always listed first. Other clues to ancient composition are noted.

Daniel Peterson discusses recent research that supports a spiritual witness for the Book of Mormon, including the following: Joseph Smith’s lack of schooling, his supposed misnaming of Jesus’ birthplace, the translation process, studies of chiasmus, possible locations for Book of Mormon events, and ancient manuscripts that are consistent with Book of Mormon accounts about document practices and beliefs of past civilizations.

Daniel Peterson discusses recent research that supports a spiritual witness for the Book of Mormon, including the following: Joseph Smith’s lack of schooling, his supposed misnaming of Jesus’ birthplace, the translation process, studies of chiasmus, possible locations for Book of Mormon events, and ancient manuscripts that are consistent with Book of Mormon accounts about document practices and beliefs of past civilizations.

Review of View of the Hebrews (2nd ed., 1996), by Ethan Smith

The Bulgarian National Museum of History in Sofia, Bulgaria, recently placed on public display an ancient book comprising six pages of 23.82-karat gold (measuring 5 centimeters in length and 4.5 centimeters in width) bound together by gold rings. The plates contain a text written in Etruscan characters and also depict a horse, a horseman, a Siren, a lyre, and soldiers. According to Elka Penkova, who heads the museum’s archaeology department, the find may be the oldest complete book in the world, dating to about 600 B.C.

Review of Converted to Christ through the Book of Mormon (1989), edited by Eugene England.

Review of Explorers of Pre-Columbian America? The Diffusionist-Inventionist Controversy (1994), by Eugene R. Fingerhut; and Legend and Lore of the Americas before 1492: An Encyclopedia of Visitors, Explorers, and Immigrants (1993), by Ronald H. Fritze.

Over the last several decades, scholarly discussion on the textual world of the Second Temple has been shifting. Ideas about texts and the development of the biblical canon began to be reshaped by the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which altered previously established ideas about the configuration of a prebiblical canon. Investigation of those and other texts made it apparent that the structure of the biblical canon was still fluid at a much later date than was originally thought. These new scholarly analyses are redefining the timelines and ideas about the early shape of the biblical text and its elasticity. Such developments have been particularly intriguing for Latter-day Saints because they have generated new ways of thinking about the historic limits of text and canon. In her new book, Eva Mroczek takes the discussion a step further and in a direction that will resonate well within the Mormon scholarly community. Her aim is to identify the “literary imagination” of Jewish antiquity or, in other words, the ways in which ancient writers and scribes conceived of their own textual world. Although she is not the first to point out the anachronistic difficulties that can plague modern scholars in their approach to texts from antiquity, she is one of the first to try to re-create a vision of an original literary mindset from the ancient texts themselves. Her study culls texts from antiquity for clues about the ways in which ancient communities thought about literature, text, authorship, and canon.

Review of Return to Cumorah: Piecing Together the Puzzle Where the Nephites Lived (1998), by Duane R. Aston; The Land of Lehi: Further Evidence for the Book of Mormon (1999), by Paul Hedengren: and The Lost Lands of the Book of Mormon (2000), by Phyllis Carol Olive

This article puts forward a methodology for identifying and classifying phrases from the New Testament that are present within the Book of Mormon text at a phrasal level. The need for such a methodology has arisen because of a recent rise in close textual studies of the Book of Mormon and its relationship to the Bible. The methodology proposed by this study suggests that terms such as quotation, allusion, and echo—terms popular in biblical studies—be avoided because of the implication that the author of the Book of Mormon was consciously relying upon the language of the Bible. While this may be true, the use of language implying a reliance risks derailing useful textual studies in favor of debates over provenance. Additionally, because not all potential interactions with the New Testament are easily identifiable, this paper proposes a series of criteria that can be applied to potential phrases to determine the likelihood that a given phrase should be studied as a valid New Testament interaction. Finally, this paper proposes three levels of classification, based upon how well a given phrase meets the criteria laid out in the study

The early and persistent claim that Joseph Smith quoted Shakespeare in the Book of Mormon fails to take into account the broader context of sources. Much closer parallels than Shakespeare are available in the Bible as well as in ancient Near Eastern literature. Indeed, the constellation of ideas about death expressed in 2 Nephi 1:13–15 fits that ancient Near Eastern context in several powerful ways—ways that belie the claim that Joseph Smith plagiarized Shakespeare.

No abstract available.

Review of How Wide the Divide: A mormon and an Evangelical in Conversation (1997), by Craig L. Blomberg and Stephen E. Robinson

Review of Book of Mormon Dictionary (1988), by George Reynolds.

Review of Fingerprints of God: Evidences from Near-Death Studies, Scientific Research on Creation, and Mormon Theology (1999), by Arvin S. Gibson

Review of Carl Mosser. “Can the Real Problem of Evil Be Solved?” in The New Mormon Challenge: Responding to the Latest Defenses of a Fast-Growing Movement

Review of Matthew L. Jockers, Daniela M. Witten, and Craig S. Criddle. “Reassessing authorship of the Book of Mormon using delta and nearest shrunken centroid classification.”

The events of 3 Nephi and 4 Nephi may foreshadow the events of the final days as witnesses of Christ are killed, are raised from the dead, and continue to instill fear in the hearts of the wicked.

Review of Joseph Smith's Response to Skepticism (1992), by Robert N. Hullinger.

Access this article at BYU ScholarsArchive.
Review of Boyd Petersen’s Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life.

Two additional parallels to the exodus pattern include death and burial in the desert and the transfiguration of Nephi and Moses.

Daniel Peterson discusses the sermon on faith given by Alma the Younger in Alma 32. Faith is not merely intellectual assent but trust or confidence, and it is expressed actively rather than passively. Peterson argues that the dichotomy between faith and works is artificial, since the root word for faith implies behavior. Alma invites us to experiment on the quality of faith, and Peterson suggests that scientific approaches to experimentation are applicable. He recommends testing or trying faith with the aid of prayer. He proposes that faith can have a spiral effect and that confidence can increase with continued experience.

Review of The House of the Lord: A Study of Holy Sanctuaries: A special Reprint of the 1912 First Edition (1998), by James E. Talmage.

Review of Earl M. Wunderli. “Critique of a Limited Geography for Book of Mormon Events.” Dialogue 35/3 (2002): 161–97.

Review of Avraham Gileadi. Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven.

Most modern historians view social, economic, and political factors as the sole shaping influences of history. For other scholars, the role of divine providence in history cannot be denied and is a topic worthy of serious consideration. Last year, Latter-day Saint scholars who embrace the notion of “providential history” shared their perspectives at a symposium titled “A Latter-day Saint View of History,” held at Brigham Young University on 6–7 February 2003. Among the 21 presenters at this unique event was John W. Welch, publications director for the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History, editor in chief of BYU Studies, and founder and board member of FARMS.

The news media often characterizes some detractors of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as “Mormon intellectuals” and presents them to the public as the thinking Mormons who know the inside story of the church. In this rush to produce controversial news, an obvious truth has been overlooked—that the LDS intellectual and academic communities are composed of strong believers in the Prophet Joseph Smith’s revelations and solid supporters of LDS Church leadership. Only at the fringes is there noticeable dissent.
Readers of Expressions of Faith will discover a marvelous, uncoached unity in these testimonies of LDS scholars. Although most of the 24 contributors are persons of substantial learning, none base their beliefs in scholarly insights. Rather, all point to an inner conviction that has come through life experience and God’s gift. As they explain, these testimonies enlighten their entire lives, including their scholarly endeavors. None feel conflict between the canons of scholarship and religious belief, but rather find the two mutually reinforcing and even necessary.
This unique book aims to strengthen people’s faith by precept and example as they pursue their own efforts to know the Lord and to understand his love and dealings with humankind.

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.
An exploration into Quetzalcoatl—the white, bearded, blue-eyed king of gods for many ancient cultures—and what that might represent in regards to the Book of Mormon and its message.

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.”

Review of A Witness and a Warning: A Modern-Day Prophet Testifies of the Book of Mormon (1988), by Ezra Taft Benson.

Review of No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet (1995), by Fawn McKay Brodie

Review of Deciphering the Geography of the Book of Mormon (1988), by F. Richard Hauck.

Review of Gospel of the Savior: A New Ancient Gospel (1999), by Charles W. Hedrick and Paul A. Mirecki

Review of Michael R. Ash. Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Alma’s definition of faith as “hope for things which are not seen, which are true” (Alma 32:21) serves as a pattern for the juxtaposition of faith and truth throughout the scriptures. Faith in the atoning power of Jesus is the truth that will save us.

Review of Mormon America: The Power and the Promise (1999), by Richard N. Ostling and Joan K. Ostling

Larry Dahl explores some of the teachings of the Book of Mormon concerning faith, hope, and charity. He discusses the meanings of these words, their relationships to each other, how they are acquired, and what their fruits are. Faith, hope, and charity must be centered in Christ. The first principle of the gospel is not just faith, it is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We must obtain not just hope, but a hope in Christ. Likewise, charity is not just love, it is the pure love of Christ.

Williams reviews the apostasy and the loss of three key components of the gospel: an understanding of the nature of God, apostolic authority, and the fulness of the gifts of the Spirit. He argues that these three aspects of the gospel largely influence our understanding of faith, reason, knowledge, and truth.

The anticipation of redemption is meaningless without an understanding of the seriousness of the fall. In this transcript, Robert Millet discusses what the Book of Mormon and the book of Moses teach about the doctrine of the fall, emphasizing its consequences for, and effects on, humanity. While refuting the notion of original sin, Millet notes the reality of our fallen nature and our vulnerability while living in a fallen environment. He takes due account of the tendencies of the natural man and witnesses that worldly impulses may be countered by a conscious yielding to God.

During a recent meeting of the FARMS Development Council, four principal investigators on Book of Mormon–related projects reviewed the status of their ongoing work. The reports clarified each project’s goals, highlighted new findings, noted future directions, and expressed appreciation for the crucial support of generous donors, many of whom were in attendance. A summary of the presentations follows.

Golden Road: The Ancient Incense Trail, a new FARMS documentary about the legendary route used by Arabia’s incense traders, premiered at the Washington DC Temple Visitors’ Center on 5 November 2005 to a group of foreign and U.S. dignitaries.

At 500 pages, the new FARMS Review (vol. 17, no. 2) nearly bursts its binding with items of interest for anyone desiring to be well-informed on Mormon studies. The coverage ranges from Lehi’s encampments in Arabia and the resurgence of the all-but-dead Spalding theory to Jewish-Mormon relations, creation ex nihilo, and the Egyptian Hor Book of Breathings.

At nearly 500 pages, the latest issue of the FARMS Review (vol. 16, no. 1) continues its pattern of offering wide-ranging coverage and in-depth analysis aimed at encouraging reliable scholarship and helping readers make informed judgments about recent publications in the field of Mormon studies.

Keeping step with its expanding role, The FARMS Review sports a new title and cover design. Further departures from tradition are the introduction, written for the first time by someone other than the founding editor; a book notes section; and a study relating to chiasmus that not only gives an update on contemporary works on the subject but also surveys those available in the 1820s.

The latest FARMS Review (vol. 16, no. 2, 2004) is another weighty issue flush with articles covering a wide array of interesting topics. In the lineup are reviews of works on Book of Mormon geography, de-Christianization of the Old Testament, the Joseph Smith Papyri, Isaiah’s central message, Jerusalem in Lehi’s day, creation theology, gospel symbolism, and the Christian countercult movement. Also included are two freestanding essays, one older article of lasting appeal (initiating a new feature in the Review), book notes, a 2003 Book of Mormon bibliography, and the editor’s top picks of recent publications. A foretaste of the many engaging articles follows.

Issue 19/2 of the FARMS Review, which is now available, follows a long tradition of dealing with a wide variety of fascinating topics. Of particular interest in this issue is a series of articles on pre-serving and enlarging the memory of the Saints. As Louis Midgley notes in his introduction to this section, “In the April 2007 General Conference, Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the Seventy delivered a powerful sermon entitled ‘Remember and Perish Not,’ in which he urged the Saints to pay close attention to the ways of remembrance in our scriptures” (p. 23). At the next conference, President Henry B. Eyring took up a similar theme when he gave an address entitled “O Remember, Remember.”

As editor of the FARMS Review, Daniel C. Peterson is well acquainted with critics’ opinions about it, FARMS in general, and, by extension, the Maxwell Institute. In his introduction to the latest FARMS Review (vol. 18, no. 2, 2006), Peterson responds to the critics by exploring the meaning of the term apologetics (“arguing . . . for or against any position”) and demonstrating at length how the term applies to the Maxwell Institute and its publications. He cautions that the term is relevant only to a portion of the Maxwell Institute’s work. “The garden of faith, like most gardens, requires both weeding and watering,” Peterson writes. “While the FARMS Review does most of the weeding for the organization, FARMS as a whole expends considerably more effort on nourishing.” He goes on to candidly address 11 recurring questions centering on the editorial philosophy of the FARMS Review, its peer-review process, and the academic merit of its content.

The latest issue of the FARMS Review (vol. 17, no. 1) is now available, offering its usual in-depth, incisive commentary on an array of recent publications and topics of interest to Latter-day Saint readers. This is the first issue published since Hugh Nibley’s death earlier this year, and Louis Midgley’s tribute to this illustrious Latter-day Saint scholar has already proved to be one of the more popular contributions. The essay is essentially an intellectual autobiography in which Midgley (BYU professor emeritus of political science and associate editor of the Review) tells of his first encounter with Nib-ley, in 1949; his subsequent studies under Sterling McMurrin, a prominent philosophy professor at the University of Utah who dismissed the Book of Mormon out of hand; his dissertation on the work of theologian Paul Tillich, who viewed God not as a personality but as the ultimate ground of being; and of Nibley’s profound influence.

2004In any given year, FARMS-affiliated scholars present their research at a number of scholarly conferences at home and abroad. Brigham Young University’s Sidney B. Sperry Symposium in Octo-ber 2004, entitled “Prelude to the Restoration: From Apostasy to the Restored Church,” was one such venue on the home front. Selected highlights follow.

FARMS’s publication earlier this year of Glimpses of Lehi’s Jerusalem was a significant milestone in Book of Mormon studies. The prodigious effort marshaled the research talents of 19 BYU scholars in a multidisciplinary reconstruction of Lehi’s Old World environment. Those who acquaint themselves with this groundbreaking research will read 1 Nephi with new eyes—with a greater awareness of the sociocultural context and lifeways of Lehi’s world.

In December 2005 FARMS released a new version of its Web site. In response to feedback from people who have used the site over the last several years, the new FARMS site boasts additional content and enhanced features.

Lehi’s dream of the tree of life, recorded in 1 Nephi 8, was a familial dream as father Lehi was primarily concerned for the eternal salvation of his posterity. Susan Easton Black discusses Lehi’s role as patriarch in his family—his counsel and leadership, his love for his family, and his heartache for Laman and Lemuel who chose not to partake of the fruit—and compares his life with that of Joseph Smith Sr.

Robert Millet explains what Jerusalem was like in Lehi’s time according to information in the book of Jeremiah and the Book of Mormon. He reviews the teachings of Lehi concerning the coming of a Messiah to counter the effects of the fall, the important place of the house of Israel in the Lord’s scheme for this earth, the role of grace through Christ’s redemption, and the future calling of Joseph Smith as a “choice seer.”

John Welch discusses Nephi’s commandment to his son Jacob that a record be kept on the small plates. Welch delineates the obligations entailed in Nephi’s commandment and suggests that descendants of Jacob—Enos, Jarom, Omni, Amaron, Chemish, Abinadom, and Amaleki—felt a strong sense of duty to see that it was fulfilled.

Review of “And the Saints Go Marching On” (2002), by Carl Mosser; and Mormon America: The Power and the Promise (1999), by Richard N. Ostling and Joan K. Ostling

Este texto de la presentation en video fue preparado por la facultad del Instituto de Religion de Portland.

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.

Review of Mormons, Scriptures, and the Ancient World: Studies in Honor of John L. Sorenson (1998), edited by Davis Bitton

The Encyclopedia of Mormonism, published in 1992, is now available online at www.lib.byu.edu/spc/Macmillan/, or search Google for Encyclopedia of Mormonism. This valuable resource answers many questions about Church doctrine and history and is useful in any teaching situation. BYU Studies will be assisting the Harold B. Lee Library to add links and update content in coming months.

The Book of Mormon does not give sufficient information about the background of Ishmael’s wife, the wives of Ishmael’s sons, and Nephi’s sisters to test the mitochondrial DNA of the group. Other problems for critics’ assertions include the uncertainty of Lehi’s possession of an Abrahamic Y chromosome and the complete disregard for the entire Jaredite population (remnants of which may have survived their final battle). Confident scientific conclusions are difficult to attain and cannot replace a spiritual witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

In this informal lecture, Hugh Nibley proposes that exploring the explanations of the facsimiles was not timely in Joseph Smith’s day, but the 1960s opened avenues for serious investigation. He reviews some of the mythical details in the Egyptian account of the premortal council. He also cites examples of Egyptian truisms that relate to Hebrew wisdom literature.

Review of Christ in North America (1993), by Delbert W. Curtis. Clark examines the scholarship and logic involved in assuming a one-Cumorah theory for Book of Mormon geography.

Review of Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Eric D. Huntsman, and Thomas A. Wayment. Jesus Christ and the World of the New Testament; An Illustrated Reference for Latter-day Saints.

Review of Following the Ark of the Covenant (2000), by Kerry Ross Boren and Lisa Lee Boren

From 1921 to 1922 B. H. Roberts wrote three papers that listed parallels between the Book of Mormon and the second edition (1825) of Ethan Smith’s View of the Hebrews. Roberts constructed the possible argument that the Book of Mormon relied upon Ethan Smith’s book. John Welch responds to that claim by addressing the issues Roberts raised and by listing over eighty differences between the two works.

One important and fruitful area of Book of Mormon studies has focused on ancient Hebrew literary forms present in the text. After years of studying these fascinating forms, Hugh W. Pinnock offers his perspective on their beauty, function, and background. By design this book offers a basic working knowledge of only some of the ancient literary forms identified in the Book of Mormon. Together they represent a significant percentage of the types of ancient forms drawn upon by the Nephite prophets.
The author explains that knowledge of ancient Hebrew writing forms and Jewish poetry is incomplete even today, and much less so in the Prophet Joseph Smith’s day. The book aims to deepen faith in the authenticity of the Book of Mormon by calling attention to its ancient character and affirming that it was translated—not written, or even capable of being written—in early 19th-century America.

This article surveys the past and current research on Huqoq, an ancient Jewish village near the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. Historical sources and modern explorations show that Huqoq was a small agricultural village during the biblical and postbiblical periods. Formal excavations of the site began in 2011 and have uncovered portions of the ancient village and its synagogue. This article highlights the discoveries made during the first two seasons of excavation (2011-2012), including pieces of a mosaic floor in the synagogue’s east aisle that depict two female faces, an inscription, and an illustration of Samson tying lit torches to foxes (Judges 15:1-5). Because of the rarity of Samson in Jewish art, the religious significance of this mosaic is difficult to explain. However, liturgical texts from late antiquity indicate that some synagogue congregations celebrated Samson as an apocalyptic image and messianic prototype, whose victories against the Philistines fostered hope in the eschatological messiah expected to appear and deliver the Jewish community from foreign oppression.

Royal Skausen gives information about the history, corrections, and the use of the printer’s manuscript of the Book of Mormon.

Review of First Nephi: Study Book of Mormon (1998), by Zarahemla Research Foundation.

The Institute’s Middle Eastern Texts Initiative has published the first two volumes in its Graeco-Arabic Sciences and Philosophy series: Moses Maimonides’ On Asthma and Averroes’ Middle Commentary on Aristotle’s De anima.

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).

Robert Millet discusses the evils of pride and the power of humility. The experiences related in the Book of Mormon depict the consequences of pride. Those scriptures also teach that if we trust in and rely upon the Lord, and if we are willing to acknowledge that he can make more of us than we could ever make of ourselves, we will be able us to avoid the perils of pride.

Review of Searching the Scriptures: Bringing Power to Your Personal and Family Study (1997), by Gene R. Cook; Treasure Up the Word (1997), by Jay E. Jensen; and Scripture Study: Tools and Suggestions (1999), by James E. Faulconer

King Benjamin, in an attempt to establish and promote peace, created a form of government that may be understood as democratic. The political system is not a democracy in the way the term is understood today, but the democratic elements become especially clear when viewed next to its autocratic Lamanite counterpart. Davis demonstrates how a democratic system tends to bring more peace to a nation and, interestingly, also more victory when war does come upon them. The young Nephite state encountered the types of risks experienced in the modern progression to democracy, further illustrating how difficult a task it would have been for Joseph Smith to create this world. Although the democratic state played a role in the Nephite nation, the most important lesson in the Book of Mormon’s politics is that God makes all the difference.

The familiar narrative of how Martin Harris mortgaged his farm to pay the printing cost of the first five thousand copies of the Book of Mormon overlooks details that make possible a fuller appreciation of his key role in the restoration of the gospel. Financially and otherwise, Harris was uniquely situated to secure the publisher’s note and relieve the financial tension that imperiled the book’s publication. Details of his family background, land ownership, business enterprises, and generosity are reviewed. Despite his pattern of vacillating in his religious commitments, his loss of 116 pages of translated manuscript, his exposure to public ridicule, and his fracturing marriage, Harris proved willing and able to honor the mortgage agreement and the Lord’s directives to him in Doctrine and Covenants, section 19. He did so at great personal cost when all attempts to recoup the publication costs failed and the shared financial responsibility unexpectedly fell solely on him. The view is expressed that Harris was raised up by the Lord to assist the Prophet Joseph Smith by securing and then personally financing the first publication of the Restoration.

The question of where Joseph Smith received the text of the Book of Abraham has elicited three main theories, one of which, held by a minority of church members, is that Joseph translated it from papyri that we no longer have. It is conjectured that if this were the case, then the contents of the Book of Abraham must have been on what nineteenth-century witnesses described as the “long roll.” Two sets of scholars developed mathematical formulas to discover, from the remains of what they believe to be the long roll, what the length of the long roll would have been. However, when these formulas are applied on scrolls of known length, they produce erratic or inconclusive results, thus casting doubt on their ability to accurately conclude how long the long roll would have been.

The Hor Book of Breathings: A Translation and Commentary, by Michael D. Rhodes, treats the fragments of the Joseph Smith Papyri associated with Facsimiles 1 and 3 of the Book of Abraham.

The Hor Book of Breathings: A Translation and Commentary, by Michael D. Rhodes, treats the fragments of the Joseph Smith Papyri associated with Facsimiles 1 and 3 of the Book of Abraham. The book features hieroglyphs that were custom designed for this project. Available in June 2002.

The FARMS Review (vol. 15, no. 1), edited by Daniel C. Peterson, contains reviews of a FARMS publication titled Uncovering the Original Text of the Book of Mormon: History and Findings of the Critical Text Project, Terryl L. Givens’s study of the Book of Mormon titled By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture That Launched a New World Religion (published by Oxford University Press), three books on the Book of Abraham, and an evangelical critique titled The New Mormon Challenge, initially treated in the last Review. The FARMS Review (formerly FARMS Review of Books) also includes a study of what was known about chiasmus at the time the Book of Mormon was produced. Beginning with this issue is a section called “Book Notes,” in which brief descriptions of recent books will be given. Available in late April.

The Hôr Book of Breathings: A Translation and Commentary, by Michael D. Rhodes, treats the fragments of the Joseph Smith Papyri associated with Facsimiles 1 and 3 of the Book of Abraham. Available in March 2002.

Astronomy, Papyrus, and Covenant, edited by John Gee and Brian Hauglid, is volume 3 in the Book of Abraham Series. It includes FARMS conference papers on the Book of Abraham and its commonalities with ancient texts, Abraham’s vision of the heavens, and the significance of the Abrahamic covenant. Available autumn 2003.

The FARMS Review (vol. 15, no. 2), edited by Daniel C. Peterson, features reviews and articles on DNA issues, the Mountain Meadows massacre, and secret combinations, as well as responses to a so-called insider’s view of Mormon origins. Available February 2004.

Astronomy, Papyrus, and Covenant, edited by John Gee and Brian Hauglid, is the third volume in the Book of Abraham Series. It includes papers from a FARMS-sponsored conference on the Book of Abraham and covers such topics as Abraham’s vision of the heavens, commonalities between the Book of Abraham and noncanonical ancient texts, and the significance of the Abrahamic covenant. Available summer 2004.

Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon, Part 1,by Royal Skousen, is the first part of volume 4 of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project. Covering the title page through 2 Nephi 10, it analyzes every significant variant in the original and printer’s manuscripts and in 20 important editions of the Book of Mormon (from the 1830 edition to the 1981 edition). The task of this volume is to use the earliest textual sources and patterns of systematic usage to recover the original English-language text. Available August 2004.

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies(vol. 13, nos. 1–2), edited by S. Kent Brown, is a special double issue devoted to the Hill Cumorah. Studies include the geologic history and archaeology of the area, early accounts of a cave in the hill, the Hill Cumorah Pageant (its history, music, and costuming), Latter-day Saint poetry, the Hill Cumorah Monument, a linguistic analysis of the name Cumorah, and the earliest photographs of the hill. Available late fall 2004.

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies(vol. 13, nos. 1–2), edited by S. Kent Brown, is a special double issue devoted to the Hill Cumorah. Studies include the geologic history and archaeology of the area, early accounts of a cave in the hill, the Hill Cumorah Pageant (its history, music, and costuming), Latter-day Saint poetry, the Hill Cumorah Monument, a linguistic analysis of the name Cumorah, and the earliest photographs of the hill. Available December 2004.

Apostles and Bishops in Early Christianity, by Hugh W. Nibley, edited by John F. Hall and John W. Welch, presents an edited, expanded version of Hugh Nib-ley’s verbatim lecture “notes” that he prepared for a course he taught in 1954. Extensive footnotes have been developed from Nibley’s cryptic source notations. In this course, Nibley explored the offices of apostle and bishop, the priesthood authority associated with them, and questions of succession in the early church and in Rome. Copublished with Deseret Book, it will appear as volume 15 in the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley. Available early 2005.

No abstract available.

Review of Gustav Mahler, ed. The Sealed Book of Daniel Opened and Translated: The Linear Bible Code—Reading the Book Backward.

Review of John W. Welch and Erick B. Carlson, eds. Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations, 1820-1844.

Robert Espinosa was approached by Royal Skousen in 1991 with a request for him to join Skousen on the critical text project of the Book of Mormon. Espinosa shares his experience working with Skousen and the developments that they were able to make. After meeting with the owners of some fragments of the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon, Espinosa and Skousen were able to conserve, examine, and photograph the fragments. They also carefully analyzed the physical characteristics of the printer’s manuscript.

Review of The Mormon Concept of God: A Philosophical Analysis (1991), by Francis J. Beckwith and Stephen E. Parrish

This essay analyzes examples of poetry in the Hebrew Bible and the Book of Mormon that do not conform to the standards to which prose is typically confined. Each of these poems contains a syntactic device that scholars have come to identify by the term enallage (Greek for “interchange”). Rather than being a case of textual corruption or blatant error, the grammatical variance attested in these passages provides a poetic articulation of a progression from distance to proximity.

Understanding Islam: An LDS Perspective, a new audiotape from Covenant Recordings in which Daniel C. Peterson, a BYU scholar of Islam and Arabic, provides a fascinating look at the history and beliefs of a religion of more than 1.4 billion adherents. See the order form.

Dead Sea Scrolls Reader, edited by Donald W. Parry and Emanuel Tov, presents all of the nonbiblical Qumran texts along with English translations. Published by Brill Academic Publishers of the Netherlands, this six-part edition of the nonbiblical scroll fragments is an outgrowth of the FARMS Dead Sea Scrolls database. Parts 1 (religious law), 2 (exegetical texts), and 4 (calendrical and sapiental texts) are available now; parts 3 (parabiblical texts), 5 (poetic and liturgical texts), and 6 (additional genres and unclassified texts) will be available in spring 2004.

This paper explores several relationships between the texts in Moroni 2–6 and the words and deeds of Jesus in 3 Nephi 18. The opening chapters of Moroni contain the words that Jesus Christ spoke to the twelve when he ordained them to the high priesthood, the words used by the Nephites in administering the sacrament, and also a few words by Moroni about baptism, church membership, congregational worship, and ecclesiastical discipline. This study demonstrates that these instructions and procedures were rooted in the words and deeds of the resurrected Jesus in 3 Nephi 18 as he administered the sacrament, gave instructions to his disciples, and conferred upon the twelve the power to bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost. Thus, one can appreciate the extent to which Nephite ecclesiastical procedures were based directly on the Savior’s instructions and ministry. Those practices, essential to the restored gospel, came from that divine source.

Hugh Nibley, late professor of ancient history and religion at Brigham Young University and one of the foremost scholars of the ancient world in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, discussed the Rule of the Community in an appendix to his 1975 book The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri. The Joseph Smith Papyri is an initiatory text; the Rule of the Community is both an initiatory text, enumerating details for entrance into the Essene community at Qumran, and a covenant document, listing elements in the covenant made between God and individuals entering the Essene community at Qumran. This piece is an excerpt from the appendix of his text mentioned above and outlines the various aspects of this Rule of the Community as found in the Dead Sea Scrolls (1QS).