This article provides insights on the story of Aaron and the golden calf in the Bible, explaining why Aaron may have decided to make it and why his punishment for doing so was minor in comparison to other biblical reprimands.

Those who hold the Aaronic Priesthood open the door for all Church members who worthily partake of the sacrament to enjoy the companionship of the Spirit of the Lord and the ministering of angels.

The priesthood needs to be exercised to accomplish any good. You are called to “arise and shine forth,” not to hide your light in darkness.

Review of Richard Abanes. One Nation under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church.

For the fruit of the gospel to blossom and bless our lives, we must be firmly attached to Him, the Savior of us all.

God’s love is infinite and it will endure forever, but what it means for each of us depends on how we respond to His love.

Our daily question must be, “Do my actions place me in the Lord’s or in the enemy’s territory?”

Christ has the power to bring us into loving fellowship with the Father and with one another.

Todd Parker discusses the meaning of Abinadi’s name and compares his circumstances to those of John the Baptist and his message to that of King Benjamin. He points out legal pretexts for Abinadi’s trial from Old Testament passages, and demonstrates how the priests of King Noah misunderstood the function of prophecy. Abinadi provides several examples of types and shadows pointing to the mission of Christ.

Most blessings that God desires to give us require action on our part—action based on our faith in Jesus Christ.

An essay written about a painted portrait of Hugh Nibley.

Review of The Use of Egyptian Magical Papyri to Authenticate the Book of Abraham: A Critical Review? (1993), by Edward H. Ashment.

Idrimi of Alalakh lived in Syria about a century after Abraham and left an autobiographical inscription that is the only such item uncovered archaeologically from Middle Bronze Age Syro-Palestine. The inscription of Idrimi and the Book of Abraham share a number of parallel features and motifs. Some of the parallels are a result of similar experiences in their lives and some are a result of coming from a similar culture and time.

One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.

This chapter helps to distinguish between myth, ritual, and history, especially as they connect with Egyptian annual year-rites.

Republished in 2000 in a second edition with new materials and illustrations as Abraham in Egypt, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 14.

Nibley examines the Book of Abraham’s striking connections with ancient texts and Egyptian religion and culture.

Considered by many to be a classic in LDS literature, this new edition of Abraham in Egypt [published in association with the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS)] contains all the material from the first edition as well as additions from Nibley’s 1968–70 Improvement Era series “A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price.”

In 1968–70, Hugh Nibley wrote a series of articles for the Improvement Era titled “A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price.” Brother Nibley asked that some of these articles be made into chapters to be added to Abraham in Egypt. These new chapters are what constitutes the new edition; no changes were made to the original chapters. For the articles, Nibley drew from many Jewish and rabbinical sources, while his work in the first edition was based on Egyptian material.

Blake Ostler examines what relationship exists between the papyri of the ancient Egyptian Book of Breathings possessed by Joseph Smith and the Book of Abraham. Ostler finds that Joseph Smith, in associating vignettes of the Book of the Dead to explain Abraham’s experiences, was actually duplicating an ancient practice about which he could not have known from secular sources available in his day.

Stories about Abraham circulated in ancient times and were continued into the medieval period. Many of these accounts were then lost and have come to light only recently. John Tvedtnes examines several such stories— ranging from creation accounts to the attempted sacrifice of Abraham— and shows how they support the Book of Abraham.

Hugh Nibley discusses how Abraham was an ordinary man who held no office and worked no miracles, and yet he was one of the greatest minds of the last forty centuries. Nibley discusses Abraham’s relationship with the temple and gives an overview of the ancient temple. He also shows how the Book of Abraham answers what Nibley calls the “terrible questions”: Where do I come from? Why am I here? How does the universe figure in the gospel? How did it all begin, and how will it all end? Nibley argues that the vision given to Abraham in the Book of Abraham contains stage directions indicating that the vision is dramatized, and the Book of Abraham includes the script.

Transcript of a lecture presented on 6 April 1999 as part of the FARMS Book of Abraham Lecture Series.

Hugh Nibley discusses how Abraham was an ordinary man who held no office and worked no miracles, and yet he was one of the greatest minds of the last forty centuries.

Reprinted in Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 17, 445–82.

Here, Nibley identifies elements of the creation drama that appear in the book of Abraham and elsewhere in the ancient world.

One of the stunning aspects of Dr. Hugh Nibley’s genius was his persistent sense of wonder. That trait induced him to range widely through very disparate subjects of study—all covered in volume 17 of The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple. In this compilation of materials, most of which have been published previously outside the Collected Works volumes, Nibley explores the ancient Egyptians, the temple, the life sciences, world literature, ancient Judaism, and Joseph Smith and the Restoration. The contents of this volume illustrate the breadth of his interest through autobiographical sketches, interviews, book reviews, forewords to books, letters, memorial tributes, Sunday School lessons, and various writings about the temple.

Here, Nibley identifies elements of the creation drama that appear in the book of Abraham and elsewhere in the ancient world.

The abundant life is within our reach if only we will drink deeply of living water, fill our hearts with love, and create of our lives a masterpiece.

Discourse by President George Q. Cannon, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, September 18, 1881. Reported By: John Irvine.

Our testimonies have been strengthened. I believe we are all the more determined to live the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Hugh Nibley read a paper with the title “Acclamatio” at the annual meeting of the Southwest Archaeological Foundation in San Diego, California, in 1941.

In this essay, Nibley draws on materials he collected at the beginning of his career on the politics of ancient mobs and draws parallels with contemporary events, including anti-Mormon sentiments.

This paper includes many quotations from Brigham Young and the scriptures.

The prophet Nephi declared that the Lord speaks to his people “according to their language, unto their understanding” (2 Nephi 31:3). Religious beliefs are an integral part of a culture’s shared “language,” and the ways in which individuals interpret supernatural manifestations is typically mediated through their cultural background. The hierophanies recorded in Latter-day Saint canon directly reflect the unique cultural background of the individuals who witnessed them. This paper analyzes several distinct hierophanies witnessed by prophets in both the Old and New Worlds and discusses the cultural context in which such manifestations occur, which aids modern readers in obtaining a greater understanding of the revelatory process recounted in these texts.

Remarks by President George A. Smith, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Like City, Sunday Afternoon, June 22, 1873. Reported By: David W. Evans.

This article discusses the importance of recording sacred experiences and preserving other written records.

Utilizing techniques adapted from literary criticism, this paper investigates the narrative structure of the Book of Mormon, particularly the relationship between Nephi’s first-person account and Mormon’s third-person abridgment. A comparison of the order and relative prominence of material from 1 Nephi 12 with the content of Mormon’s historical record reveals that Mormon may have intentionally patterned the structure of his narrative after Nephi’s prophetic vision—a conclusion hinted at by Mormon himself in his editorial comments. With this understanding, readers of the Book of Mormon can see how Mormon’s sometimes unusual editorial decisions are actually guided by an overarching desire to show that Nephi’s prophecies have been dramatically and literally fulfilled in the history of his people.

We are to learn our duty from the Lord, and then we are to act in all diligence, never being lazy or slothful.

Remarks by Elder Lorenzo Snow, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Oct. 9, 1869. Reported By: John Grimshaw.

Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sept. 23, 1877. Reported By: Rudger Clawson.

Chart

Remarks by Elder Ezra T. Benson, Delivered at a Special Conference held in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, August 28, 1852. Reported By: G. D. Watt.

Allow me to share several observations I made as our family has passed through trials.

Butler discusses the premises of the DNA argument between supporters and critics of the Book of Mormon.

An Address by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered at the General Conference, in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1854. Reported By: Unknown.

More young men and young women will rise to the challenge and stay on the covenant path because of this laser-like focus on our youth.

A Discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, December 13, 1857. Reported By: G. D. Watt.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 5, 1860. Reported By: G. D. Watt.

Discourse by Elder Henry W. Naisbitt, delivered in the Assembly Hall Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Feb. 20, 1881. Reported By: John Irvine.

Discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, delivered in Provo City, June 27, 1863. Reported By: J. V. Long.

A Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1856. Reported By: G. D. Watt.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, Delivered at the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Tuesday Morning, October 6, 1857. Reported By: G. D. Watt, J. V. Long.

I bear you my testimony that God the Father lives. He set a course for each of us that can polish and perfect us to be with Him.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, made on the Public Square, Great Salt Lake City, July 8, 1863. Reported By: G. D. Watt.

An Address by Elder Franklin D. Richards, Delivered at the General Conference, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1853. Reported By: G. D. Watt.

Remarks by President Brigham Young, in the Bowery, G.S.L. City, August 12, 1866. Reported By: G. D. Watt.

Discourse by Elder Amasa M. Lyman, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 7, 1863. Reported By: J. V. Long.

Discourse by President Orson Hyde, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, October 5, 1873. Reported By: David W. Evans.

We, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ, have chosen not to be ordinary men and women.

As we follow God’s voice and His covenant path, He will strengthen us in our trials.

In response to the articles in this issue, Peterson notes that Latter-day Saints do not extend themselves to expose and attack other faiths. He further discusses, among other things, an open canon and continuing revelation, salvation as outlined in the scriptures, the ordinances of the gospel, revelation following the incarnation and resurrection of Christ, the biblical canon, inerrancy, biblical texts, the Book of Abraham, and the nature of God.

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered in Kaysville, Davis County, Sunday, December 9, 1883. Reported By: John Irvine.

It is very important for Latter-day Saints to keep pace, more or Less, with the fast-moving developments in the fields of Bible and related studies. By failing to do this we run the risk of laboring to accommodate our religion to scientific and scholarly teachings that have long since been superceded, altered, or completely discarded.

Funeral Services Preached by Elder Joseph F. Smith, Over the Remains of Emma, Daughter of Elder Daniel H. and Emmeline Wells, on Thursday Morning, April 11, 1878. Reported By: Geo. F. Gibbs.

A cunning part of [Satan’s] strategy is to dissociate anger from agency, making us believe that we are victims of an emotion that we cannot control.

Remarks by President Daniel H. Wells, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 6, 1862. Reported By: J. V. Long.

Whenever we choose to come unto Christ, take His name upon us, and follow His servants, we progress along the path to eternal life.

Agency is the power to think, choose, and act for ourselves. It comes with endless opportunities, accompanied by responsibility and consequences.

Review of Step by Step through the Book of Mormon: The Story in Scriptures? A Geographical, Cultural, and Historical System of Understanding (1996), and Step by Step through the Book of Mormon: A Cultural Commentary, Part 1?Through the Wilderness to the Promised Land (1996), by Alan C. Miner

Review of “A Hemeneutic of Sacred Texts: Historicism, Revisionism, Postitiveism, and the Bible and Book of Mormon” (1989), by Alan Goff.

One Eternal Round is the culmination of Hugh Nibley’s thought on the book of Abraham and represents over fifteen years of research and writing. The volume includes penetrating insights into Egyptian pharaohs and medieval Jewish and Islamic traditions about Abraham; Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian myths; the Aztec calendar stone; Hopi Indian ceremonies; and early Jewish and Christian apocrypha, as well as the relationship of myth, ritual, and history.

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered at the 17th Ward Meetinghouse, on Sunday Afternoon, December 15, 1878. Reported By: Geo. F. Gibbs.

Again and again the Book of Mormon teaches that the gospel of Jesus Christ is universal in its promise and effect.

Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered at the Adjourned Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, October 11, 1874. Reported By: David W. Evans.

After Joseph Smith received the gold plates from the angel Moroni, he had to take great measures to protect them from people who wanted to steal them for their monetary value. Although Joseph did not leave much documentation of such experiences, the people who were closely associated with him at the time did. Using what records still exist, Hedges pieces together some of the stories of Joseph’s challenges in obtaining and protecting the gold plates.

Remarks by Elder Orson Hyde, made at the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, October 7, 1862. Reported By: J. V. Long.

Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the Old Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, July 19, 1874. Reported By: David W. Evans.

A full list of scripture references used in works written by Hugh Nibley.

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered at the Semi-Annual Conference, Held in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 9, 1879. Reported By: Geo. F. Gibbs.

The Book of Abraham, one of the canonized works of Latter-day Saint scripture brought forth by the Prophet Joseph Smith, has been attacked by critics since its publication in 1842. In Abraham in Egypt, LDS scholar Hugh Nibley draws on his erudition in ancient languages, literature, and history to defend the book on historical and doctrinal grounds. Nibley examines the Book of Abraham’s striking connections with ancient texts and Egyptian religion and culture. He discusses the book’s many nonbiblical themes that are found in apocryphal literature not known or available in Smith’s day. In opening up many other lines of inquiry, Nibley lays an essential foundation for further research on the biblical patriarch Abraham. This enlarged, second edition of Nibley’s classic 1981 work of the same title updates the endnotes, includes many illustrations, and adds several chapters taken from a series of articles in the Improvement Era entitled “A Look at the Pearl of Great Price,” which Nibley wrote between 1968 and 1970.

The Lord told Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, “Look unto me in every thought” (D&C 6:36). In the ordinance of the sacrament we covenant each week to “always remember him,” that we “may always have his Spirit” to be with us (D&C 20:77). The Book of Mormon testifies that “all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all thing that are upon the face of it” (Alma 30:44). Thus, God has given all things as a type or representation of Christ to help us remember Him (see 2 Nephi 11:4; Helaman 8:24). The key to understanding the things of God is to see Christ in them, including His creations.

Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered at Bountiful, Davis County, on Sunday Afternoon, December 1, 1878. Reported By: Geo. F. Gibbs.

As we search, pray, and believe, we will recognize miracles in our lives and become miracle workers in the lives of others.

We may never know in this life why we face what we do, but we can feel confident that we can grow from the experience.

Children need to know that having faith in the Savior and following Him will help them receive peace in this troubled world.

Review of Fun for Family Night: Book of Mormon Edition (1990), by Allan K. Burgess and Max H. Molgard.

Review of Living the Book of Mormon: A Guide to Understanding and Applying Its Principles in Today's World (1991), by Allen K. Burgess.

Review of Timely Truths from the Book of Mormon (1995), by Allan K. Burgess

Catherine Thomas places Alma and his teachings within the context of the premortal existence to show his concern for the plan of redemption. She notes that some spirits were notably more responsive in their faith than others and that Israel was there organized. Alma’s discourses are set against his dramatic conversion, from a condition of abject wickedness to that of a highly motivated saint. His transformation serves as a model of encouragement for the lost soul seeking a higher state.

In Alma 21 a new group of troublemakers is introduced—the Amalekites—without explanation or introduction. This article offers arguments that this is the same group called Amlicites elsewhere and that the confusion is caused by Oliver Cowdery’s inconsistency in spelling. If this theory is accurate, then Alma structured his narrative record more tightly and carefully than previously realized. The concept also challenges the simplicity of the good Nephite/bad Lamanite rubric so often used to describe the players in the book of Mormon.

Alma’s distinctive use of the word state in the Book of Mormon is present in his unique concentration of state, his tendency to reword with state, and his treatment of a shared topic involving state.

Student Review once managed to interview Hugh Nibley; one of his students performed the interview for us in his office some Saturday. The guy came up with all sorts of questions, and Hugh answered them all. We all listened to the tape several times over; it was cool stuff. We ran it as “An (Almost) Uncensored Interview with Hugh Nibley,” from which my favorite line was a comment he made when asked about the BYU administration (as it existed circa 1994): “Lawyers! Lawyers everywhere! Nothing but lawyers!” Also, he called Supreme Court Justice Scalia “just plain stupid.” (from a comment at TimesandSeasons.org)

Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered in the Bowery, Logan City, Sunday Morning, June 29, 1873. Reported By: David W. Evans.

I humbly testify and pray that we will always remember Him—in all times, all things, and all places we may be in.

By the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost as our constant companion, we can always retain a remission of our sins.

How can each of us experience the power of understanding our divine identity? It begins by seeking to know God, our Father.

Review of “Is Mormonism Christian?” (2002), by Craig L. Blomberg

If you will really try and will not rationalize or rebel—repenting often and pleading for grace—you positively are going to be “good enough.”

An article about being in the world but not of the world.

Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the Old Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday, Dec. 27, 1868. Reported By: David W. Evans.

Ammon, a Nephite missionary who chose to serve a Lamanite king as his servant, gained fame by cutting off the arms of the king’s enemies. The practice of smiting off arms of enemies as trophies fits a cultural pattern known among the later Aztecs and Maya in pre-Spanish Mesoamerica.

Remarks by Elder Orson Hyde, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, on Sunday, Dec. 18, 1864. Reported By: E. L. Sloan.

Review of Charting the Book of Mormon (1999), by John W. Welch and J. Gregory Welch

Strengthen your faith by following this pattern of prayer, study, and obedience to the commandments.

Discourse by Apostle Lorenzo Snow, delivered at the General Conference, Friday, A. M., April 7, 1882. Reported By: Geo. F. Gibbs.

Nephite kings were expected to fulfill the same roles that kings played in other ancient civilizations— commander of the military forces, chief judicial official, and leader of the national religion. A king’s success depended not only on the extent to which he performed each role, but also on the motives behind his service. Selfless rule by Benjamin-type kings commanded the respect and praise of the people, while King Noah’s quest for personal gain roused Old World disdain for the monarch. The Nephite experiment with kingship confirms that between “kings and tyrants there’s this difference known; kings seek their subject’s good; tyrants their own” (Robert Herrick, 1591–1674).

This paper is an expanded version of a paper presented earlier at the Library History Seminar VI in March 1980.

This paper deals with the persistence of a strange documentary custom of the Mesopotamian kings, which led to numerous burials of metallic documents (often encased in stone boxes or other special containers) and were concealed in the foundations or other inaccessible recesses of temples and palaces.

This is a manuscript dealing with authority and the councils, possibly related to the 155-page manuscript that became the volume Apostles and Bishops in Early Christianity, which focuses more on the office of Bishop.

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.

A Sermon by Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, September 11, 1859. Reported By: G. D. Watt.

This first of two volumes of essays honoring Hugh Nibley includes scholarly papers based on what the contributors have learned from Dr. Nibley. Nearly every major subject that he has encompassed in his vast learning and scholarly production is represented here by at least one article. Topics include the influence of Nibley, Copts and the Bible, the Seventy in scripture, the great apostasy, the book of Daniel in early Mormon thought, an early Christian initiation ritual, John’s Apocalypse, ancient Jewish seafaring, Native American rites of passage, Sinai as sanctuary and mountain of God, the Qurʾan and creation ex nihilo, and the sacred handclasp and embrace.

This paper presents data, culled primarily from talmudic and midrashic sources, pertaining to the commercial and religious laws that governed Jewish seafaring up to ca. AD 500.

Includes color photographs taken by the author.

Articles introducing Egypt accompanying Nibley’s series “A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price.”

Part of a weekly lecture series featured on KSL radio.

A discussion about liberty and ancient beliefs involving such.

An edited version of a part of a weekly lecture series featured on KSL radio.

A discussion about liberty and ancient beliefs involving such.

Review of Finding Biblical Hebrew and Other Ancient Literary Forms in the Book of Mormon (1999), by Hugh W. Pinnock

7 pages.

A talk in which ancient and modern ordinances are compared, and the notes therein.