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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.
There is room for improvement in every life. … Regardless of our circumstances, we can improve ourselves and while so doing have an effect on the lives of those about us.
Review of Christ's Answer to the Atheist, to the Jew: Who Wrote It? (1987), by Earl W. Carlsen.
As we seek to understand the belief and practices of the earliest Christians, we find ordinances and doctrines quite familiar to the restored gospel.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Early Christianity, Church Fathers, Patrologia
The study of the interpretations of the Book of Mormon text in the early days of the Church is helped by three documents called “reference guides” One is thought to have been printed in Kirtland in 1835, another in 1841 as part of the first European edition of the Book of Mormon, and the third a year later in Philadelphia, about which little is known.
Review of Scott H. Faulring, Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Joseph Smith's New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts.
Reprinted in Mormonism and Early Christianity, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 4.
An assessment of the various infancy materials about the childhood of Jesus.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Jesus Christ > Childhood
Originally published as an article in The Instructor.
An assessment of the various infancy materials about the childhood of Jesus.
A photographic essay of Mesoamerica and the narrow coastal region and highlands of the Middle Andes, which includes Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia.
Through the employment of quotes from authorities of the Church, scientiic data, and photographic presentations of Polynesia, the author discusses the possibilities that the Polynesians were descendants of Lehi.
New details on archaeology of the area around Guatemala City in Book of Mormon times are given. Some features can be compared with the ancient Near East.
A study of textual changes made in the Book of Mormon.
Classifies and discusses the main types of textual changes in the 2nd (1837, Kirtland) and 3rd (1840, Nauvoo) editions of the Book of Mormon, including corrections of typos from the 1st (1830, Palmyra) edition, revisions by Joseph Smith for the 2nd edition, corrections in the 3rd edition by reference to the original manuscript, and accidental errors in both editions.
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.
An address delivered to the BYU Tri-Stake Fireside
A discussion of what then newly discovered papyri mean for the history of Christianity.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Prayer Circles
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.
Abstract: This study argues that the Book of Moses was an early Christian text. The book’s language, literary genre, and references to its own production could fit with a date in the late first century ad. Further, the study argues that a possible ritual context of the book was a baptismal ritual, as suggested by the detailed description of Adam’s baptism in Moses 6. A comparison between the content of the Book of Moses and early Christian sources on baptism shows some close resemblances, which may suggest that the Book of Moses was read aloud, and perhaps portrayed as a ritual drama, on sacred space during a baptismal ritual.
“An Early Christian Context for the Book of Moses” (2021)
“An Early Christian Context for the Book of Moses” (2021)
Book of Moses Topics > Temple Themes in the Book of Moses and Related Scripture
Book of Moses Topics > Literary and Textual Studies of the Book of Moses
“An Early Christian Context for the Book of Moses” (2021)
“An Early Christian Context for the Book of Moses” (2021)
Book of Moses Topics > Chapters of the Book of Moses > Moses 6:13–7 — Enoch
Book of Moses Topics > Temple Themes in the Book of Moses and Related Scripture
Book of Moses Topics > Literary and Textual Studies of the Book of Moses
“An Early Christian Context for the Book of Moses” (2021)
“An Early Christian Context for the Book of Moses” (2021)
Book of Moses Topics > Chapters of the Book of Moses > Moses 6:13–7 — Enoch
Book of Moses Topics > Temple Themes in the Book of Moses and Related Scripture
Book of Moses Topics > Literary and Textual Studies of the Book of Moses
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Early Christianity, Church Fathers, Patrologia
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.
A sketch of some medieval European Christian exegetical and homiletic traditions, which analyzes references from the second century to the Carolingian Renaissance.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > History > Christian History, Apostasy > Early Christianity, Church Fathers, Patrologia
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples > Early Christians and the Temple
Reprinted in Mormonism and Early Christianity, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 4, 45–99. Also reprinted in LDS Views on Early Christianity and Apocrypha: Articles from BYU Studies, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.
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.
“The Early Christian Prayer Circle” (1987)
“The Early Christian Prayer Circle” (2010)
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.
“The Early Christian Prayer Circle” (1978)
“The Early Christian Prayer Circle” (2010)
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.
“The Early Christian Prayer Circle” (1978)
“The Early Christian Prayer Circle” (1987)
“The Early Christian Prayer Circle: Sidebar, Coptic Liturgical Text” (2010)
“The Early Christian Prayer Circle: Sidebar, Minutes of the Second Council of Nicaea in ad 787” (2010)
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.
Abstract: This paper addresses the early Christian transition from temple-based Judaism to the Constantinian basilica of the fourth century. David argues that some Christians of the second and early third centuries may have had places of worship that, while not monumental in scale, qualify typologically as temples and were understood as such. These sacred structures may have been used for the performance of baptisms for the dead, as suggested by Doctrine and Covenants 124. In support of this thesis, he takes as case studies the Christian places of worship at ancient Edessa and Dura Europos, based on a combination of textual sources and archaeological remains. David then briefly applies these findings to a question posed years ago in studies by Hugh Nibley and John Lundquist, “What Is a Temple?”
[Editor’s Note: Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article is reprinted here as a service to the Latter-day Saint community. Original pagination and page numbers have necessarily changed, otherwise the reprint has the same content as the original.
See David Calabro, “From temple to church: Defining sacred space in the Near East,” in The Temple: Past, Present, and Future. Proceedings of the Fifth Interpreter Foundation Matthew B. Brown Memorial Conference, 7 November 2020, ed. Stephen D. Ricks and Jeffrey M. Bradshaw (Orem, UT: The Interpreter Foundation; Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2021), page numbers forthcoming. Further information at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/the-temple-past-present-and-future/.]Introduction.
Book of Moses Topics > Temple Themes in the Book of Moses and Related Scripture
Abstract: This paper addresses the early Christian transition from temple-based Judaism to the Constantinian basilica of the fourth century. David argues that some Christians of the second and early third centuries may have had places of worship that, while not monumental in scale, qualify typologically as temples and were understood as such. These sacred structures may have been used for the performance of baptisms for the dead, as suggested by Doctrine and Covenants 124. In support of this thesis, he takes as case studies the Christian places of worship at ancient Edessa and Dura Europos, based on a combination of textual sources and archaeological remains. David then briefly applies these findings to a question posed years ago in studies by Hugh Nibley and John Lundquist, “What Is a Temple?”
[Editor’s Note: Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article is reprinted here as a service to the Latter-day Saint community. Original pagination and page numbers have necessarily changed, otherwise the reprint has the same content as the original.
See David Calabro, “From temple to church: Defining sacred space in the Near East,” in The Temple: Past, Present, and Future. Proceedings of the Fifth Interpreter Foundation Matthew B. Brown Memorial Conference, 7 November 2020, ed. Stephen D. Ricks and Jeffrey M. Bradshaw (Orem, UT: The Interpreter Foundation; Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2021), page numbers forthcoming. Further information at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/the-temple-past-present-and-future/.]Introduction.
RSC Topics > A — C > Apostasy
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.
This article discusses the history of the Hill Cumorah pageant, a dramatic production that depicts the people of the Book of Mormon who peopled America many years ago.
A tendentious and sardonic but highly imaginative recounting of Joseph Smith’s life, including the events leading to the coming forth and publishing of the Book of Mormon. Entertaining mixture of fiction with fact.
An historical and polemical work directed against Mormonism. The author advances the Spaulding theory to account for the Book of Mormon’s origin.
A Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday afternoon, January 10, 1858. Reported By: J. V. Long.
Chart
Old Testament Topics > Old Testament: Overviews and Manuals
Old Testament Topics > Old Testament: Overviews and Manuals
A polemical article against Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. The author discusses Joseph’s use of the seerstone, Book of Mormon witnesses, Shakespeare and the Book of Mormon, the condemnation of polygamy in the Book of Mormon, Spaulding theory, and other related items.
Includes the LDS account of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon but accepts the Solomon Spaulding theory for its origin. Also speaks concerning the attempts by mobs to steal the gold plates, the mode of translation, and Joseph Smith’s literary aptitude.
Uses archaeological evidence, legends, traditions, and myths of the native inhabitants, as well as historical accounts to show that the Book of Mormon coincides with ancient evidence and thus it must surely be the record of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas. Ties Book of Mormon migrations with specific locations and civilizations according to Book of Mormon texts.
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.
Discusses the publication and printing process of the Book of Mormon, the present location of the original manuscript of the book, and the statement of the Three Witnesses regarding the authenticity of the Book of Mormon.
RSC Topics > D — F > Death
RSC Topics > D — F > Family
RSC Topics > Q — S > Sacrifice
In 1875, a few days before the first missionaries to Mexico were to depart, Brigham Young changed his mind: rather than have them travel to California where they would take a steamer down the coast and then go by foot or horseback inland to Mexico City, Brigham asked if they would mind making the trip by horseback, going neither to California nor Mexico City, but through Arizona to the northern Mexican state of Sonora—a round trip of 3,000 miles! He instructed them to look along the way for places to settle and to determine whether the Lamanites were ready to receive the gospel. But Brigham Young had other things in mind: the Saints might need another place of refuge, and advanced exploration was a logical course to pursue, should that need ever arise. The most promising site for such a refuge lay to the south, perhaps Mexico.
Some have argued that Mormonism began with a book, the Book of Mormon. This printed beginning quickly spawned a prolific amount of published material both expounding and defending early doctrines of the Latter-day Saints. Between 1836 and 1860 about ninety Church members authored a variety of written works. Although many publications were based on the writings of Parley P. Pratt and Orson Pratt, some represented original ideas. Most pamphlets grew from missionary efforts, but others countered anti-Mormon literature then in circulation. In promoting truth, Mormons found the press to be a powerful weapon. These early pamphlets developed from the interactions of Church members with themselves, their message, and their neighbors. As Mormonism grew, David Whittaker explains, the press became a key element in providing the institutional glue for helping to hold together this dynamic social and religious movement. Whittaker’s dissertation explores the rise and development of pamphlet literature during the Church’s formative years. Whittaker’s dissertation explores the rise and development of pamphlet literature during the Church’s formative years.
This compilation of articles and book reviews on Mormon polygamy is selected from over fifty years of LDS scholarship published by BYU Studies. This volume features articles on the Church’s legal confrontation with government over polygamy, various aspects of plural marriage in St. George, the perspectives of two prominent Mormon plural wives (Eliza R. Snow and Emmeline B. Wells), and several reviews of books addressing various aspects of polygamy. Contents “Letters on Mormon Polygamy and Progeny: Eliza R. Snow and Martin Luther Holbrook, 1866–1869” Jill Mulvay Derr and Matthew J. Grow “A Strange Encounter: The English Courts and Mormon Polygamy” Kenneth L. Cannon II “Emmeline B. Wells: ‘Am I Not a Woman and a Sister?’” Carol Cornwall Madsen “The Legislative Antipolygamy Campaign” Richard D. Poll “The Mormon Disfranchisements of 1882 to 1892” Joseph H. Groberg “The Judicial Campaign against Polygamy and the Enduring Legal Questions” Edwin Brown Firmage “Probing the High Prevalence of Polygyny in St. George, 1861–1880: An Introduction” Davis Bitton, Val Lambson, Lowell C. Bennion, and Kathryn M. Daynes “Demographic Limits of Nineteenth-Century Mormon Polygyny” Davis Bitton and Val Lambson “Mapping the Extent of Plural Marriage in St. George, 1861–1880” Lowell C. Bennion “Striving to Live the Principle in Utah’s First Temple City: A Snapshot of Polygamy in St. George, Utah, in June 1880” Kathryn M. Daynes “Plural Marriage in St. George: A Summary and an Invitation” Davis Bitton, Val Lambson, Lowell C. Bennion, and Kathryn M. Daynes Review of Elizabeth Wood Kane, Twelve Mormon Homes Visited in Successions on a Journey Through Utah to Arizona Reviewed by Eugene E. Campbell Review of Jessie L. Embry, Mormon Polygamous Families: Life in the Principle Reviewed by Kahlile Mehr Review of Larry M. Logue, A Sermon in the Desert: Belief and Behavior in Early St. George, Utah Reviewed by Armand L. Mauss Review of Richard S. Van Wagoner, Mormon Polygamy: A History, 2d ed. Reviewed by Thomas G. Alexander Review of Jennifer Moulton Hansen, Letters of Catharine Cottam Romney, Plural Wife; Maria S. Ellsworth, Mormon Odyssey: The Story of Ida Hunt Udall, Plural Wife; and Stan Larson, Prisoner for Polygamy: The Memoirs and Letters of Rudger Clawson at the Utah Territorial Penitentiary, 1884–87 Reviewed by Kathryn M. Daynes Review of Joan Smyth Iversen, The Antipolygamy Controversy in U.S. Women’s Movements, 1880–1925: A Debate on the American Home Reviewed by Jed L. Woodworth Review of Norman R. Bowen, A Gentile Account of Life in Utah’s Dixie, 1872–73: Elizabeth Kane’s St. George Journal Reviewed by Carol Cornwall Madsen Review of Sarah Barringer Gordon, The Mormon Question: Polygamy and Constitutional Conflict in Nineteenth-Century America Reviewed by Nathan B. Oman and Reviewed by Terryl L. Givens Review of Kathryn M. Daynes, More Wives Than One: Transformation of the Mormon Marriage System, 1840–1910 Reviewed by Sarah Barringer Gordon Review of Brian C. Hales, Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations after the Manifesto Reviewed by J. Michael Hunter Review of B. Carmon Hardy, Doing the Works of Abraham: Mormon Polygamy, Its Origin, Practice, and Demise Reviewed by Kathryn M. Daynes Review of George D. Smith, Nauvoo Polygamy: “. . . but we called it celestial marriage” Reviewed by Thomas G. Alexander
RSC Topics > T — Z > War
Believes that the Book of Mormon came forth out of a religio-magical backdrop. The author discusses the event of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon with commentary to help the reader look at the book in the appropriate setting, consistent with the “magical” beliefs of the 19th century. This work is reviewed in W.365, W 286, and in R.418.
A polemical article that attempts to enumerate numerous modern environmental factors that influenced the Book of Mormon such as anti-Masonic influences, theories regarding Indian origins, and money digging. The 1826 trial of Joseph Smith, Anthon episode, Book of Mormon witnesses, lack of archaeological evidence, and plagiarisms from the Bible are also discussed.
How the Book of Mormon fit in the early years of the Church and important doctrine that was introduced with the publication the Book.
Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Bowery, July 7, 1861. Reported By: J. V. Long.
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.
RSC Topics > Q — S > Quorum
RSC Topics > Q — S > Quorums of the Seventy
This article speaks of Joseph Smith’s visions of Moroni, the last battles of the Jaredites, and of the Nephites on the hill Cumorah.
Reviews various theories held between the 16th and 19th centuries regarding the descent of the American Indian from biblical peoples, including theories regarding Cain, Ham, Magog, the Hebrews, and others. Believes that the idea of a Hebrew origin for the American Indian was readily accessible to Joseph Smith, and thus favors an environmentalist explanation for the Book of Mormon’s origin.
Heavenly Father is intimately interested in hearing from us and that He is omnipresent and available to listen at all times.
Review of Recent Book of Mormon Developments: Articles from the Zarahemla Record, vol. 2 (1992), edited by Raymond C. Treat.
Men who have “integrity of heart” are men to be trusted—because trust is built on integrity.
originally published in Deseret News, November 21, 1931, pp. 7-8
RSC Topics > L — P > Plan of Salvation
The BYU Religious Studies Center, in cooperation with Deseret Book, has published a book by President Boyd K. Packer featuring a significant number of his paintings, drawings, and wood carvings. The book is titled The Earth Shall Teach Thee: The Lifework of an Amateur Artist. President Packer is well known for his years of service as a teacher and leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many would say that his greatest contribution has been that of a teacher. His ability to teach principles with simple everyday examples is a gift. This gift came as a natural ability but has been refined by years of study, practice, and prayer. But what most people don’t know is that President Packer has had a pastime of painting and carving. This hobby has been used to beautify his home, teach his children, and provide needed relaxation. While he was painting or carving, his mind was carving out a sermon. He has created what some describe as masterpieces. To him, they are simply an attempt to capture the beauty of nature. The whole collection of his art consists of nearly six hundred original carvings, paintings, sketches, and drawings. He has used oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastels, charcoal, crayon, ink, and pencil. The collection covers seventy-seven years of effort, beginning in 1933 at age nine. President Packer’s artistic bent and love of nature are as integrally a part of him as his spirituality, compassion, steadiness, and humor. His carvings of life-size birds in natural habitats are perhaps the apex of his artistic creations. Of more enduring worth, however, are the valuable lessons taught through his art, illustrations, parables, and example. Above all, his art expresses reverence for life. Through artwork he has shared the lessons of life with his family and with members of the Church. President Packer once wrote, “During those hours working with my hands, I pondered on the marvels of creation, and inspiration would flow. As I carved wood, I carved out talks.” ISBN 978-0-8425-2806-1
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 4, 1864. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
We have earthly debts and heavenly debts. Let us be wise in dealing with each of them.
RSC Topics > A — C > Agency
RSC Topics > D — F > Death
RSC Topics > D — F > Faith
RSC Topics > G — K > Justice
RSC Topics > L — P > Plan of Salvation
RSC Topics > Q — S > Spirit World
Discourse by Professor Orson Pratt. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Argues that the scriptures, including the Book of Mormon, refer to places inside the earth. Makes reference to the parable of the olive tree and to the habitation of the lost tribes of Israel.
Review of Brian C. Hales and Laura H. Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: Toward a Better Understanding. Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2015, 198 pages + index.
Responds to the objection that the Book of Mormon was originally inscribed on metal plates. Numerous examples in the Old Testament demonstrate the working of metal from early ages, including Tubal-Cain’s work with brass and iron (Genesis 4:22), the brass gates of Babylon (Isaiah 45:1-2), the use of steel in Job’s day (Job 20:24), the golden calf made in the wilderness, and all the gold of Moses’ tabernacle (Exodus 25:17-36).
The daily living of the gospel brings a softness of heart needed to have an easiness and willingness to believe the word of God.
An anti-Mormon piece that argues that LDS scholars have changed the location of “the narrow neck of land” from the Isthmus of Panama to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, creating a problem with the “sea east” and the “sea west”
Reprinted in Immortality: Famed Discourses on Eternal Progression and Future Existence and The World and the Prophets, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 3.
“Easter and the Prophets” (1974)
“Easter and the Prophets” (1987)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Jesus Christ > Resurrection, Easter
This essay was reprinted in The World and the Prophets, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 3
“Easter and the Prophets” (1954)
“Easter and the Prophets” (1987)
Originally presented as a radio program as part of the Time Vindicates the Prophets series in 1962.
“Easter and the Prophets” (1954)
“Easter and the Prophets” (1974)
RSC Topics > D — F > Easter
RSC Topics > Q — S > Resurrection
RSC Topics > T — Z > Testimony
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
Abstract: Easters come year after year, reminding us of new life brought to the children of men by the eternal atoning sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He grants us peace, forgiveness, grace, mercy, contentment, and joy in our hearts, and thus we gratefully testify of our everlasting redeeming Savior. All things bear witness of Jesus Christ. The Lord spoke thus face-to-face with Moses upon a high mountain: “And behold, all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me.”
The intent of this article is to discuss scriptures that bear testimony of the reality of the Lord’s infinite atonement, to express deep gratitude for our Savior, and to praise Him for His grace, mercy, wisdom, power, and holiness.
Refers to the prophecy of Samuel the Lamanite about Christ’s birth and the prophecy’s subsequent fulfillment (3 Nephi 8-11). The Easter event in the western world was “established by ocular and auditory evidence”
RSC Topics > A — C > Book of Abraham
The amazing achievements of the last hundred years in technology and science are paralleled by significant strides in Book of Mormon studies. Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon takes inventory of some of the most fascinating ancient elements of the Book of Mormon. For many years now, Latter-day Saint scholars have called attention to significant parallels in the Book of Mormon with the ancient world that in many cases were unknowable in the world of Joseph Smith. The sheer number of these “bull’s-eyes” alone is impressive. In this volume, scholars trained in biblical studies, archaeology, classics, history, law, linguistics, anthropology, political science, philosophy, Near East studies, literature, and other relevant fields present some of their favorite evidences that support the Book of Mormon’s claim to ancient origins. Their findings illuminate points present in ancient sources, details that are not obvious, intricate patterns, unusual or distinctive features, and information that was little or not known in the 1820s.
RSC Topics > L — P > New Testament
“In recent years Mormon apologists have begun to challenge what many researchers, myself included, long regarded as obvious: the Book of Mormon’s reflection of the cultural milieu of early nineteenth-century America, particularly the anti-Masonic controversy that pervaded westen New York during the late 1820s. If the similarities between Masonry and the secret societies described in the book are not apparent to some modern readers, they were to its first readers, Mormon and non-Mormon, who almost immediately associated its warnings of latter-day ’secret combinations’ with the dreaded Masons. Despite the book’s use of the term ’secret combinations’--a favorite anti-Masonic epithet--several scholars now, for various reasons, object to the connection and, in some instances, offer alternative interpretations. In particular, I will examine and respond to the arguments put forth by Richard L. Bushman, Blake T. Ostler, D. Michael Quinn, and Daniel C. Peterson.” [From author’s introduction]
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.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Hugh Nibley > Scholarship, Footnotes, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, CWHN, Editing > Book of Mormon
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.
RSC Topics > Q — S > Sacrifice
Therefore, go; go humbly to serve. Work hard, be honest, and be reliable. I testify to you that you will be blessed and success will be yours.
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.
Abstract: In this essay John Gee draws a connection between the Egyptian “Book of the Temple” and the book of Exodus, both in structure and topic, describing the temple from the inside out. Gee concludes that both probably go back to a common source older than either of them.[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 John Gee, “Edfu and Exodus,” in Temple Insights: Proceedings of the Interpreter Matthew B. Brown Memorial Conference, “The Temple on Mount Zion,” 22 September 2012, ed. William J. Hamblin and David Rolph Seely (Orem, UT: The Interpreter Foundation; Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2014), 67–82. Further information at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/temple-insights/.].
This article contains an account of the first vision received by Joseph Smith and the importance of other visions leading up to the publication of the Book of Mormon and the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Reprinted as “Editing Hugh Nibley: The Man and His Legacy“ in Hugh Nibley Observed.
A reflection on the author’s time as an editor working on Hugh Nibley’s books.
Originally presented as “Editing Hugh Nibley: From Manuscript to Book,“ a talk at a conference held by the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) in Salt Lake City.
A reflection on the author’s time as an editor working on Hugh Nibley’s books.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Hugh Nibley > Scholarship, Footnotes, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, CWHN, Editing
A report on a visit to the Isle of Man where Pratt and others gave lectures on the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon. They quoted from Isaiah 29 and explained how these verses apply to the Book of Mormon.
Heber J. Grant writes about reading the Book of Mormon as a boy. Melvin J. Ballard speaks about the book’s purpose of being carried to “all nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples.”
Comments on recent negative publicity given the Book of Mormon when Jefferey Lundgren convinced his followers that chiasmus was the only way God speaks in scripture.
Various verses from Isaiah 29 are applied to the Book of Mormon. Refers to the work as a “record of the house of Joseph”
A didactic editorial lauding Nephi’s obedience and recommending imitation by the youth of the Church.
A didactic editorial lauding Nephi’s obedience and recommending imitation by the youth of the Church.
A didactic editorial lauding Nephi’s obedience and recommending imitation by the youth of the Church.
Asserts that the inhabitants discovered by the Europeans in America are descendants of Laman and Lemuel. The Book of Mormon peoples lived principally in Central and South America. LDS church members should recognize the important role of the Indians among the Gentiles.
Asserts that the inhabitants discovered by the Europeans in America are descendants of Laman and Lemuel. The Book of Mormon peoples lived principally in Central and South America. LDS church members should recognize the important role of the Indians among the Gentiles.
Asserts that the inhabitants discovered by the Europeans in America are descendants of Laman and Lemuel. The Book of Mormon peoples lived principally in Central and South America. LDS church members should recognize the important role of the Indians among the Gentiles.
Describes a disease called epizootic, which killed many horses in the Eastern states. The Book of Mormon (3 Nephi 21:14) “foretells a time when, if the people would not repent, the Lord would destroy their horses.” Author the asks “who can say that the epizootic has no connection with that threat of divine displeasure?”
Describes a disease called epizootic, which killed many horses in the Eastern states. The Book of Mormon (3 Nephi 21:14) “foretells a time when, if the people would not repent, the Lord would destroy their horses” Author the asks “who can say that the epizootic has no connection with that threat of divine displeasure?”
Describes a disease called epizootic, which killed many horses in the Eastern states. The Book of Mormon (3 Nephi 21:14) “foretells a time when, if the people would not repent, the Lord would destroy their horses.” Author the asks “who can say that the epizootic has no connection with that threat of divine displeasure?”
Discusses Korihor and refutes his anti-Christ methods and doctrines. Relates and compares anti-Christ teachings to American popular opinion, concluding that Satan has not changed his tactics through the centuries.
Discusses Korihor and refutes his anti-Christ methods and doctrines. Relates and compares anti-Christ teachings to American popular opinion, concluding that Satan has not changed his tactics through the centuries.
Discusses Korihor and refutes his anti-Christ methods and doctrines. Relates and compares anti-Christ teachings to American popular opinion, concluding that Satan has not changed his tactics through the centuries.
Didactic essay, showing how the Ammonite striplings or sons of Helaman are examples of childhood training that might well be exempliied in LDS homes.
Didactic essay, showing how the Ammonite striplings or sons of Helaman are examples of childhood training that might well be exemplified in LDS homes.
Didactic essay, showing how the Ammonite striplings or sons of Helaman are examples of childhood training that might well be exemplified in LDS homes.
Editorial reflections on the Book of Mormon concepts of America as the choicest of lands and the necessity for righteousness for its inhabitants. Discusses secret combinations.
Editorial reflections on the Book of Mormon concepts of America as the choicest of lands and the necessity for righteousness for its inhabitants. Discusses secret combinations.
Editorial reflections on the Book of Mormon concepts of America as the choicest of lands and the necessity for righteousness for its inhabitants. Discusses secret combinations.
The hostile attitude of the Americans towards the Indians is a remarkable fulillment of Book of Mormon prophecy. LDS chruch members should consider the glorious future of the Lamanites.
Refers to the dangerous and unstable secret societies that are located throughout Europe and America and relates them to the secret combinations spoken of by Moroni.
Refers to the dangerous and unstable secret societies that are located throughout Europe and America and relates them to the secret combinations spoken of by Moroni.
Refers to the dangerous and unstable secret societies that are located throughout Europe and America and relates them to the secret combinations spoken of by Moroni.
Cannon reports that a German scholar, Professor Rudolph, noted striking resemblances between the leading Semitic languages (Arabic and Hebrew) and the Aymara language, belonging to the Incas in Peru. Cannon suggests that a reading of the Book of Mormon would enlighten the professor.
Cannon reports that a German scholar, Professor Rudolph, noted striking resemblances between the leading Semitic languages (Arabic and Hebrew) and the Aymara language, belonging to the Incas in Peru. Cannon suggests that a reading of the Book of Mormon would enlighten the professor.
Cannon reports that a German scholar, Professor Rudolph, noted striking resemblances between the leading Semitic languages (Arabic and Hebrew) and the Aymara language, belonging to the Incas in Peru. Cannon suggests that a reading of the Book of Mormon would enlighten the professor.
Civilized manners were not taught to the Lamanaites by Laman and Lemuel, and the Lamanites existed in a degenerate condition. On the other hand, due to the instructions of Nephi, the Nephites existed in a more civilized condition.
Civilized manners were not taught to the Lamanites by Laman and Lemuel, and the Lamanites existed in a degenerate condition. On the other hand, due to the instructions of Nephi, the Nephites existed in a more civilized condition.
Civilized manners were not taught to the Lamanites by Laman and Lemuel, and the Lamanites existed in a degenerate condition. On the other hand, due to the instructions of Nephi, the Nephites existed in a more civilized condition.
All churches except the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are part of the great and abominable church that was prophesied by Nephi. They will ight against the true church and will fall into the pit that they prepared for the people of the Lord.
All churches except the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are part of the great and abominable church that was prophesied by Nephi. They will fight against the true church and will fall into the pit that they prepared for the people of the Lord.
All churches except the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are part of the great and abominable church that was prophesied by Nephi. They will fight against the true church and will fall into the pit that they prepared for the people of the Lord.
When the Book of Mormon was published it was assumed that the American Indians were headed for extinction, but the Book of Mormon predicted that they would become a mighty people. This prophecy will yet be fulilled.
When the Book of Mormon was published it was assumed that the American Indians were headed for extinction, but the Book of Mormon predicted that they would become a mighty people. This prophecy will yet be fulfilled.
When the Book of Mormon was published it was assumed that the American Indians were headed for extinction, but the Book of Mormon predicted that they would become a mighty people. This prophecy will yet be fulfilled.
The hostile attitude of the Americans towards the Indians is a remarkable fulfillment of Book of Mormon prophecy. LDS church members should consider the glorious future of the Lamanites.
Contention over Book of Mormon geography is detrimental to the cause of truth. The reason for this contention is due to the fact that the Book of Mormon is not a geographical primer meant to teach geographical truths. The drawing of Book of Mormon maps is discouraged.
Offers an explanation why eight of the eleven witnesses were members of two families.
Harrison argues that it is impossible that the Book of Mormon be even remotely related to the Manuscript Found by Solomon Spaulding. The Manuscript Found is a fictitious account of the lost ten tribes and the Book of Mormon is an account of one family of the tribe of Joseph.
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 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.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
RSC Topics > Q — S > Relief Society
RSC Topics > T — Z > Welfare
RSC Topics > L — P > Learning
RSC Topics > T — Z > Teaching the Gospel
Originally printed as “Educating the Saints: A Brigham Young Mosaic“ in BYU Studies in 1970.
The compelling mystique of those franchise businesses that in our day have built up enormous institutional clout by selling nothing but the right to a name was anticipated in our great schools of Education, which monopolized the magic name of Education and sold the right to use it at a time when the idea of a “School of Education” made about as much sense as a class in Erudition or a year’s course in Total Perfection. The whole business of education can become an operation in managerial manipulation. In “Higher Education,” the traffic in titles and forms is already long established: The Office, with its hoarded files of score sheets, punched cards, and tapes, can declare exactly how educated any individual is, even to the third decimal. That is the highly structured busywork which we call education today. But it was not Brigham Young’s idea of education. He had thoughts which we have repeated from time to time with very mixed reception on the BYU campus. Still, we do not feel in the least inclined to apologize for propagating them on the premises of a university whose main distinction is that it bears his name.
Originally printed as “Educating the Saints: A Brigham Young Mosaic“ in BYU Studies in 1970.
The compelling mystique of those franchise businesses that in our day have built up enormous institutional clout by selling nothing but the right to a name was anticipated in our great schools of Education, which monopolized the magic name of Education and sold the right to use it at a time when the idea of a “School of Education” made about as much sense as a class in Erudition or a year’s course in Total Perfection. The whole business of education can become an operation in managerial manipulation. In “Higher Education,” the traffic in titles and forms is already long established: The Office, with its hoarded files of score sheets, punched cards, and tapes, can declare exactly how educated any individual is, even to the third decimal. That is the highly structured busywork which we call education today. But it was not Brigham Young’s idea of education. He had thoughts which we have repeated from time to time with very mixed reception on the BYU campus. Still, we do not feel in the least inclined to apologize for propagating them on the premises of a university whose main distinction is that it bears his name.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Education, Learning
Reprinted as “Educating the Saints” in Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless, 1978, and in Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 13.
The compelling mystique of those franchise businesses that in our day have built up enormous institutional clout by selling nothing but the right to a name was anticipated in our great schools of Education, which monopolized the magic name of Education and sold the right to use it at a time when the idea of a “School of Education” made about as much sense as a class in Erudition or a year’s course in Total Perfection. The whole business of education can become an operation in managerial manipulation. In “Higher Education,” the traffic in titles and forms is already long established: The Office, with its hoarded files of score sheets, punched cards, and tapes, can declare exactly how educated any individual is, even to the third decimal. That is the highly structured busywork which we call education today. But it was not Brigham Young’s idea of education. He had thoughts which we have repeated from time to time with very mixed reception on the BYU campus. Still, we do not feel in the least inclined to apologize for propagating them on the premises of a university whose main distinction is that it bears his name.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Education, Learning
Twenty-three landmark speeches by Church and University leaders about the religious and academic nature of education in Zion and BYU. These speeches have charted and refined the singular course of LDS higher education. Everyone will want to be familiar with these valuable statements about academic learning in a spiritual atmosphere by some of our greatest educators, including karl G. Maeser, David O. McKay, Hugh B. Brown, Dallin H. Oaks, Rex E. Lee, Jeffrey R. Holland, Boyd K. Packer, Neal A. Maxwell, Gordon B. Hinckley, and Spencer W. Kimball.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 8th, 1852. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
An Address by Parley P. Pratt, Delivered at the Fourteenth Ward Schoolhouse on Monday, December 26, 1853. Reported By: Unknown.
RSC Topics > T — Z > Youth
Can we not build dream castles in the air and build foundations solidly under them?
Remarks by Elder Orson Hyde, delivered at the Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Tuesday Afternoon, April 6, 1875. Reported By: David W. Evans.
RSC Topics > G — K > Joseph Smith
RSC Topics > Q — S > Revelation
Discourse by President George A. Smith, delivered at the Adjourned General Conference, held in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, May 10, 1874. Reported By: David W. Evans.
You may have thought that you are here at this university to take a certain series of courses, obtain a degree, and then leave learning behind. If so, you do not fully understand. God desires the flourishing of your whole soul for the glories He has in mind for you, including an eternal family with children who will shine as jewels in His crown and yours, and that is why He intends to bless you, if you will exert yourself, with a soul-stretching education.
“God is the embodiment of the attribute of happiness. To be like him is to experience a fulness of joy. If we go contrary to that sacred nature, we go contrary to the nature of happiness.”
Here we are in these beautiful temples of learning with qualified teachers, countless books, and resources. All of this and the Spirit, too. May we each receive the knowledge that is here. Use it in wisdom to unlock eternal opportunities.
RSC Topics > L — P > Learning
RSC Topics > T — Z > Teaching the Gospel
Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, April 8, 1867. Reported By: David W. Evans.
Discourse by President George Q. Cannon, delivered at the General Conference, Tuesday Morning, April 5, 1881. Reported By: John Irvine.
Remarks by Elder George A. Smith, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 9, 1867. Reported By: David W. Evans.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in Mill Creek Ward meetinghouse, Sunday, July 25, 1868. Reported By: Edward L. Sloan.
A Discourse by Elder John Taylor, Delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, September 20, 1857. Reported By: G. D. Watt, J. V. Long.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 8, 1860. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
A Discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 19, 1854. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
RSC Topics > A — C > Bishop
RSC Topics > D — F > First Presidency
RSC Topics > L — P > Priesthood
RSC Topics > Q — S > Quorum
RSC Topics > T — Z > Tithing
RSC Topics > T — Z > War
RSC Topics > L — P > Marriage
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 19, 1860. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
A Discourse by President B. Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, July 24, 1853. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
A Discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, November 2, 1856. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered at Ephraim, Sanpete County, on Sunday Morning, April 13, 1879. Reported By: Geo. F. Gibbs.
Questions and answers given at an unknown time and place.
Answers the following questions: “What is the Prophet’s attraction to Egypt?”; “Why have the vast majority of people never known the Gospel?”; “What is the relationship between the Osiris myth and the Abraham story?”; “What is the pattern we must follow to become sons of God, to gain eternal life?”; “How do the three Facsimiles relate to that pattern?”; “What specifically is the Hypocephalus?”; and “What is the appeal of Light to the Egyptians? What does the Sun represent?” —from Gary Gillum
A combination of five articles from the Improvement Era series There Were Jaredites (February–June 1956).
An exploration into the book of Ether and its ties to Egypt told via a fictional account.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Peoples > Jaredites
Part 1 of 5.
An exploration into the book of Ether and its ties to Egypt told via a fictional account.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Peoples > Jaredites
Part 2 of 5.
An exploration into the book of Ether and its ties to Egypt told via a fictional account.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Peoples > Jaredites
Part 3 of 5.
An exploration into the book of Ether and its ties to Egypt told via a fictional account.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Peoples > Jaredites
Part 4 of 5.
An exploration into the book of Ether and its ties to Egypt told via a fictional account.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Peoples > Jaredites
Part 5 of 5.
An exploration into the book of Ether and its ties to Egypt told via a fictional account.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Peoples > Jaredites
First-person experiences and photographs of Egypt
This lecture overviews and summarizes the recent work of Latter-day Saint scholars that creates an Egyptian context for the Book of Abraham. Drawing from the resources and material on the Pearl of Great Price Central website, it focuses on what is known about the ancient owners of the Joseph Smith Papyri, the texts preserved on the surviving papyri fragments, and few key ways in which the Book of Abraham can be situated in the ancient world.
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.
It is most remarkable that “modern scientists” could overlook the Book of Mormon while so much of their research in the Americas and Egypt adds evidences to the divinity of the work. The London Magazine reports that there is a connection between the hieroglyphs of the Mayas and those of the Egyptians. Could these hieroglyphs have originated with Adam and Eve, or was it Lehi’s company who brought them?
There are several names in the Book of Mormon—such as Zenephi, Zenos, and Zenock—that look as though they are composed of scriptural names (Nephi, Enos, Enoch, and so forth) with different forms of a z-prefix that might mean “son of ” or “descendant of.” This article proposes that the names Zenephi Zenos, Zenock, and Cezoram incorporate the names of other Book of Mormon or biblical individuals and the Egyptian pin-tail duck hieroglyph, represented by the morpheme se-/ze-, which denotes filiation with these ancestors. If this hypothesis is accurate, it could provide insight into some aspects of the structure of the language of the Book of Mormon and could also reveal information about Book of Mormon naming practices and genealogical lineages of the people who received these names.
RSC Topics > A — C > Church History 1820–1844
RSC Topics > Q — S > Sacrifice
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.
Three studies of the Book of Mormon: (1) Detailed analysis of the Egyptian characteristics of the Book of Mormon, (2) editorial markers in the Book of Mormon, and (3) a broad look at the realia of the Book of Mormon as evidences of historical authenticity.
This series proposes that the characters on the gold plates were derived from Hieratic or Demotic Egyptian (Mormon 9:32-33). Analysis of other major written languages available ca. 600 B. C.—i.e. Phoenician-Hebrew, Egyptian hieroglyphs, cuneiform—reveals that they do not meet the writing requirements outlined in the Book of Mormon itself. The nature of the gold plates as an alloy is also discussed. The first part covers Phoenician-Hebrew and Egyptian hieroglyphs.
This series proposes that the characters on the gold plates were derived from Hieratic or Demotic Egyptian (Mormon 9:32-33). Analysis of other major written languages available ca. 600 B. C.—i.e. Phoenician-Hebrew, Egyptian hieroglyphs, cuneiform—reveals that they do not meet the writing requirements outlined in the Book of Mormon itself. The nature of the gold plates as an alloy is also discussed. The second part covers cuneiform and the alloy of the plates.
This series proposes that the characters on the gold plates were derived from Hieratic or Demotic Egyptian (Mormon 9:32-33). Analysis of other major written languages available ca. 600 B. C.—i.e. Phoenician-Hebrew, Egyptian hieroglyphs, cuneiform—reveals that they do not meet the writing requirements outlined in the Book of Mormon itself. The nature of the gold plates as an alloy is also discussed. The third and final part covers the Anthon Transcript.
This article can now be found in the Deseret News archives.
Reflections about how Hugh Nibley’s book One Eternal Round was completed after his death.
On the Ultimate Egypt—Interpreter Foundation Tour, we will not only see the holy sites of the ancient Egyptians, but we will also see some significant places in the history of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Come and learn about the traditional site where Jesus, Mary, and Joseph stayed when they fled to Egypt, the traditional site where Moses was drawn from the water as a baby, and the great mosques of the Muslim people in Cairo. Come and find out why some people call Egypt “the other Holy Land.”
Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris desired the privilege and responsibility of being the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon. This article contains Joseph Smith’s words concerning this event, the testimony of the Three Witnesses and a lengthy history of each.
A biographical sketch of each of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon (with the exception of Hyrum Smith, and Joseph Smith Sr.). Underscores the fact that the witnesses never denied their experience of handling the plates. Mary Musselman Whitmer, the mother of the five Whitmer sons who were witnesses, is also identified.
A biographical sketch of each of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon (with the exception of Hyrum Smith, and Joseph Smith Sr.). Underscores the fact that the witnesses never denied their experience of handling the plates. Mary Musselman Whitmer, the mother of the five Whitmer sons who were witnesses, is also identified.
A biographical sketch of each of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon (with the exception of Hyrum Smith, and Joseph Smith Sr.). Underscores the fact that the witnesses never denied their experience of handling the plates. Mary Musselman Whitmer, the mother of the five Whitmer sons who were witnesses, is also identified.
Witnesses of the Book of Mormon > The Eight Witnesses
Review of Stan Larson. Quest for the Gold Plates: Thomas Stuart Ferguson’s Archaeological Search for the Book of Mormon.
English title Guide to the Study of the Book of Mormon
A missionary tract that provides a brief overview of the contents of the Book of Mormon.
A tract inviting people to read about the “other sheep” spoken of by Jesus in John 10:16, having reference to the Nephites of the Book of Mormon.
Sets forth an overview of the Book of Mormon while arguing that the Book of Mormon account is not based upon historical reality.
Contains essays on the Book of Mormon including José Sánchez, “Las Traducciones y Ediciones del Libro de Mormón al Espa–ol”; José Sánchez, “MuŽstrenme a un ‘Lamanita’ “; José Sánchez, “Bibliograf’a Selecta del Libro de Mormón”; José Sánchez, “El Libro de Mormón y Yo”; Mark L. Grover, “Bibliograf’a de la Iglesia Mormona en LatinoamŽrica”; and a small “Encuesta S—bre el art’culo MuŽstrenme a un ‘Lamanita,’ ” compiled by Sánchez.
A pamphlet describing the advent and contents of the Book of Mormon, explaining the existence of inhabitants in America before Columbus.
Creo que debemos reconocer que solemos hacer nuestro mejor trabajo cuando estamos al borde de lo que sabemos, cuando estamos haciendo algo difícil y nuevo, y cuando estamos creciendo a través de los desafíos.
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
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.
A description of Milton R. Hunter’s trip to South America. Archaeological support for the Book of Mormon includes: gold artifacts, line cloth, stone work, a horse carving, and what appears to be an ancient baptismal font.
Discourse by Elder John Taylor, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, August 22, 1852. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Review of The Book of Mormon, Current Broadway Musical. ”…And so here is this noisy, heartfelt, touching, gawdy and weirdly illuminating patchwork of tenderness and blasphemy that dares to go by the name of that most Mormon book, The Book of Mormon. In that regard, this musical is to Mormonism what Bernstein’s Mass was to Catholicism, a wildly exploitative trope on the faith’s core liturgy—though, in this case, without the brilliance of Bernstein.” [from the text]
Discourse by Elder Charles W. Penrose, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, September 23, 1883. Reported By: John Irvine.
A Discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 2, 1856. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Having one Melchizedek Priesthood quorum in a ward unifies priesthood holders to accomplish all aspects of the work of salvation.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 6, 1867. Reported By: David W. Evans.
The Elders’ Journal, which published two issues in Kirtland, Ohio, in 1837 before the church’s printing office was destroyed, was reestablished in Far West, Missouri, in 1838, after JS and most other church leaders migrated from Kirtland to Far West. Thomas B. Marsh was the proprietor of the newspaper, and JS was the editor, though the amount and nature of JS’s involvement and editorial oversight is unclear.1 By May 1838, JS and Sidney Rigdon began working on material for the first Far West issue, dated July 1838.2 Ultimately, two issues were published in Missouri, dated July 1838 and August 1838. The July issue included letters to and from church elders serving proselytizing missions, as well as articles, minutes of meetings, and other items.3 The August issue contained similar material, including an editorial by JS and a letter that the First Presidency commissioned George W. Robinson to write to Latter-day Saints who had not yet gathered to Missouri. The August issue also included an obituary for Ethan Barrows Jr., who died in mid-August 1838,4 indicating that the issue was published sometime in the second half of the month or later.
In November 1837, the second issue of the church’s new periodical, Elders’ Journal of the Church of Latter Day Saints, was published in Kirtland, Ohio. The paper was first published in October 1837 as an instrument for the elders of the church to “communicate to others, all things pertaining to their mission, and calling as servants of the living God, and messengers of righteousness to the nations among whom they are sent.” As editor of the Elders’ Journal, JS was ultimately responsible for its content, including editorial selections in the November issue that introduced conference minutes, prefaced a letter from Orson Hyde in England, articulated an editorial philosophy, and implored subscribers to remit payment for their subscriptions. Though JS authored an account of his trip to Missouri and an attending list of questions, the extent of his involvement in writing the other editorial pieces is unclear.2 Given that he did not return to Kirtland from Far West, Missouri, until 10 December 1837, the November issue was likely not published until after that date.
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.
This is the Icelandic version of Fire on Ice. Who were the first Icelanders to willingly leave their beloved homeland and immigrate to the United States of America? Many people are surprised to learn these immigrants were Latter-day Saint converts eager to gather to Utah, the nineteenth-century Zion in the West. How did the message of the restored gospel come to Iceland, the land of fire and ice? What made converts adventurous enough to make this lengthy Utah journey by sail, rail, and trail, and what challenges did they encounter trying to assimilate into western American culture? These and other queries are addressed in this work, published to mark a dual sesquicentennial commemoration: the arrival of the first Icelandic Latter-day Saints in Utah, and the earliest settlement of Icelanders in the United States. ISBN 978-9979-54-746-4
RSC Topics > L — P > Marriage
RSC Topics > Q — S > Relief Society
We must strive for mutual understanding and treat all with goodwill. We must exercise patience. We should all speak out for religion and the importance of religious freedom. We must, above all, trust in God and His promises.
Review of David F. Holland, Moroni: A Brief Theological Introduction (Provo, UT: The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2021). 147 pages. $9.95 (paperback).
Abstract: David Holland, the youngest son of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, is the John Bartlett Professor of New England Church History at Harvard Divinity School. Consistent with his training and focus, Holland has approached Moroni as an historian. Hence, despite the subtitle to this series about books in the Book of Mormon, Holland has done neither systematic nor dogmatic theology in his contribution.
Review of Grant Hardy, ed. The Book of Mormon: A Reader’s Edition.
It is possible, because of Him, to have peace deep within our souls when all about there is confusion, tumult, and temptation.
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.
RSC Topics > L — P > Old Testament
RSC Topics > Q — S > Sacrifice
Radiocarbon dating indicates early culture in Arizona was contemporaneous with mastodons in the vicinity of 4000 b.c. This may be the first serious evidence supporting the survival of this animal as late as the Jaredites. The book of Ether has “elephants” less than two millennia later.
Eleven of the seventy-five pages that the Church owns of the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon have been successfully laminated in plastic in Richmond, VA. The process of restoration and preservation of the pages is described.
RSC Topics > T — Z > Testimony
Lists the birthdates of the eleven witnesses and mentions the fact that none of the witnesses denied their testimonies and all were baptized as a result of viewing the plates.
Argues against the reliability of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon and expresses concern over textual changes in the book.
Contents:
Our Faith is Centered in the Living Christ / David B. Haight
Misleading Translations of Paul / Richard L. Anderson
From Tanach to Talmud: The Emerging Rabbinic Judaism Which Jesus Knew / Albert W. Hoffman
The Four Gospels as Testimonies / S. Kent Brown
Spiritual Death, Temporal Death, and the Atonement of Christ / LaMar E. Garrard
The Necessity of the Book of Mormon in Teaching the New Testament / Monte S. Nyman
Fasting in the Perspective of Ancient Israel and the New Testament / Stephen D. Ricks
A Parable of Parables / Robert C. Patch
Paul: Apostle of Grace / Rodney Turner
The Parable of the Two Sons: A Revelation about God / Jay E. Jensen
Let Us Go On Unto Perfection: Paul’s Message in the Book of Hebrews / Leland H. Gentry
New Testament Prophecies of Apostasy / Kent P. Jackson
The Price of Redemption / Robert J. Matthews
An interview with artist, teacher, businessman, and Egypt guide Elhamy Naguib.
Elhamy is an Egyptian artist and teacher with 45 years of professional experience. He works in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, graphic and interior design, and wooden toys. He is the owner of Graffiti Artistoys, a graphic arts studio located in Maadi, Cairo, Egypt. He also owns a workshop for the production of educational toys and materials, and is co-owner of Box of Wonders (Sandouq el Agab), a shop selling folk-inspired wooden toys and automata in Fustat, Cairo.
Elhamy recently moved to Los Angeles, California, to be near his children (and adorable grandchild) and looks forward to exploring new opportunities.
An interview with artist, teacher, businessman, and Egypt guide Elhamy Naguib.
Elhamy is an Egyptian artist and teacher with 45 years of professional experience. He works in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, graphic and interior design, and wooden toys. He is the owner of Graffiti Artistoys, a graphic arts studio located in Maadi, Cairo, Egypt. He also owns a workshop for the production of educational toys and materials, and is co-owner of Box of Wonders (Sandouq el Agab), a shop selling folk-inspired wooden toys and automata in Fustat, Cairo.
Elhamy recently moved to Los Angeles, California, to be near his children (and adorable grandchild) and looks forward to exploring new opportunities.
Abstract: The Prophet Elias is a puzzle, with a handful of pieces scattered through the standard works and the teachings of Joseph Smith. Rather than proving a point conclusively, this paper will put the pieces together to show a new picture of this important figure. The interpretation in this article weaves together the scriptures regarding Elias into a cohesive narrative, with the prophet Noah at the center. The pieces of the puzzle investigated here are Elias’s role as the angel Gabriel in the New Testament, on the Mount of Transfiguration, the Kirtland Temple, in the Book of Revelation, and in D&C 27. These few visitations occur during significant transfers of priesthood power. Elias — the keyholder — is identified as holding “the keys of bringing to pass the restoration of all things spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began, concerning the last days” (D&C 27:6). This vast calling of restoring all things in the last days requires the original Elias (Noah) at the heavenly helm and various agents of Elias (John the Baptist and John the Beloved, among others) working on the earth during different phases of the restoration.
Old Testament Topics > Elijah
Old Testament Topics > Elijah
RSC Topics > Q — S > Service
RSC Topics > T — Z > Tithing
RSC Topics > T — Z > Unity
RSC Topics > T — Z > Welfare
Old Testament Topics > Elijah
Howard W. Hunter - May the spirit of Elijah burn deep into our hearts and turn us toward the temples.
Old Testament Topics > Elijah
Old Testament Topics > Elijah
Old Testament Topics > Elijah
Old Testament Topics > Elijah
Old Testament Topics > Elijah
A Sermon by Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, August 28, 1859. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
RSC Topics > D — F > Family History
RSC Topics > L — P > Ordinances
RSC Topics > L — P > Priesthood
Old Testament Topics > Elijah
Old Testament Topics > Music
Hymns by Eliza R. Snow—such as “O My Father,” “Behold the Great Redeemer Die,” and “How Great the Wisdom and the Love”—evoke powerful religious imagery. In her hymns and in her hundreds of other poems, Snow captured nineteenth-century Mormonism, where revelation and history intersected and Latter-day Saints labored for the meeting of heaven and earth they named Zion. Snow’s poems convey many sublime truths about the human condition. As Zion’s honored spokeswoman, no public event in the Mormon community from the 1840s to the 1880s was complete without a contribution from her. “Through [Snow’s poems] the names of many of the actors in the drama of Mormonism, will be handed down to posterity,” wrote Emmeline B. Wells. Intelligent, well-read, and articulate, Snow also had an understanding of the scriptures. Through her position in the inner circles of church leadership, her poetry, and her gifts as a spokeswoman, she became one of the most influential and best-known women in Mormon history. As a result, this collection is as much biographical, historical, and theological as literary.
RSC Topics > A — C > Church History 1820–1844
RSC Topics > L — P > Marriage
Old Testament Topics > Jesus Christ, the God of the Old and the New Testament
In the tradition of Approaching Zion, this book represents Nibley at his best. It is loaded with stunning insights on the temple, trenchant social commentary, and fascinating autobiographical details.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Hugh Nibley
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.
Discourse by Elder Joseph F. Smith, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Feb. 17, 1867. Reported By: Unknown.
“Steve Shields presents the argument of Eritrean-born Embaye Melekin that the Book of Mormon conforms more closely to the geography, culture, and lore of Africa than to the Americas.” [Publisher]
RSC Topics > L — P > Priesthood
“I will first introduce the context and content of Understanding the Book of Mormon and then, second, investigate Hardy’s attempt (and, ultimately, his failure) to create a neutral, universal discourse for academic conversation about the Book of Mormon. Third, I will discuss the performances of shame that crop up throughout Understanding the Book of Mormon and how these motivate Hardy’s turn to treating the Book of Mormon as world scripture, before concluding, fourth, with a reflection on how Hardy’s inheritance shapes the contemporary field.” [Author]
My dear brothers and sisters, with all my heart I invite you to follow Jesus Christ and embrace Heavenly Father’s great plan of salvation. I use the word embrace because I want you to accept the plan gladly and eagerly—to adopt it into your life fully and completely.
According to Joseph Smith, Doctrine and Covenants 42 “embraces the law of the church.” In this collection of essays, six scholars probe the significance of this revelation, especially the significance of its status as “law.” In what ways is D&C 42—especially the law of consecration—binding for Latter-day Saints today? These wide-ranging essays argue that the law remains in force, but in many different ways.
For me, these kinds of paradigm-shifting moments triggered by a facing of truth are fundamental to the real BYU experience. Indeed, they help me understand the words of Christ when He said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
This study investigates Brigham Young and his fellow apostles in the 1830s as they gradually became an effective quorum and moved toward eventual ascendancy. It examines the all-encompassing religious framework from which Brigham Young acted and uses it to shed light on both the complex issues confronting early Mormons and on his emergence as a leader. Young, as president of the Quorum of the Twelve, succeeded in unifying the group and molding it into the effective leadership cadre that received increasing responsibility for general church business. Brigham Young believed his abilities were a gift from God and that his leadership was successful because God was with him and his people. He saw himself as a rough and unpolished instrument with the grit to do his best and the faith to leave the rest to God. Young was certain that in the long run the kingdom would triumph and, as he liked to say, no power from earth or hell could prevent it.
Mayan traditions state that two migrations of ancestors came to America, one from the east, the other from the west. The Book of Mormon witnesses of a New Jerusalem in America. The Book of Mormon will be used with the Bible to witness for Christ to silence unbelievers.
RSC Topics > D — F > Education
RSC Topics > L — P > Marriage
RSC Topics > Q — S > Service
RSC Topics > T — Z > Women
RSC Topics > T — Z > Youth
Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, November 9, 1856. Reported By: J. V. Long.
RSC Topics > D — F > Family
RSC Topics > L — P > Parenting
RSC Topics > T — Z > Trials
Remarks by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, November 9, 1856. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
RSC Topics > T — Z > War
RSC Topics > T — Z > Zion
A Discourse by President H. C. Kimball, Delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 28, 1856. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
We are asking you as home teachers to be God’s emissaries to His children, to love and care and pray for the people you are assigned.
The authenticity of a letter purported to have been written by Emma Smith is called into question. Emma Smith denies the truthfulness of the letter and bears witness that at no time did she ever question Joseph Smith’s divine calling or the divinity of the Book of Mormon that he translated.
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.
RSC Topics > T — Z > Women
Empathy is an essential ingredient for all positive interpersonal relationships. If we couldn’t at least imagine what it feels like to be in someone else’s shoes or skin, we wouldn’t be able to connect; we would live our lives in isolation.
One year following the publication of the Book of Mormon, a shift of emphasis had taken place among the Latter-day Saints. The Lord warned them in June of 1829 (D&C 15) to place emphasis upon the writings that he had given to them prior to June of 1829—the Book of Mormon. There is no church upon the earth, only the Book of Mormon guides souls to the truth.
Due to the fact that visiting with angels isn’t part of the normal human experience, it makes it hard for historians to prove that it happened through an academic investigation. The best way, as discussed by the author, to determine what really happened is by studying other individual’s first-hand accounts about the Gold Plates.
The strength of the Church is in the millions of humble members striving every day to do the will of the Savior.
Our service to God’s children is a visible sign of our love for Him. As we willingly serve others, we become a conduit through which His love flows to touch the lives of everyone around us.
A tract-size study aid featuring scriptural references from the Book of Mormon and a series of questions about the Book of Mormon.
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.
Abstract: This study builds upon Hugh Nibley’s insightful observation that several Book of Mormon passages reflect “the ritual embrace that consummates the final escape from death in the Egyptian funerary texts and reliefs” as expressing the meaning of Christ’s Atonement. This study further extends Nibley’s observations on Jacob’s “wrestle” as a divine “embrace” to show that Lehi’s, Nephi’s, and their successors’ understanding of the divine embrace is informed by their ancestor’s “wrestle” with a “man” (Genesis 32:24–30) and reconciliation with his brother (Genesis 33:4–10). Examples of the divine embrace language and imagery throughout the Book of Mormon go well beyond what Nibley noted, evoking the Psalms’ depictions of Jehovah whose “wings” offered protection in the ritual place of atonement. Book of Mormon “divine embrace” texts have much to teach us about Jesus Christ, his love, the nature of his Atonement, and the temple.
Perplexing things will still happen, but, like Nephi, we can still know that God loves us, a … fact which can and will sustain us through so much!
The awareness of God’s love for us, of His unreserved guidance and support, should inspire us to likewise extend our reach to those who look to us for direction and relief.
RSC Topics > G — K > God the Father
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.
Remarks by President Daniel H. Wells, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 16, 1862. Reported By: J. V. Long.
According to a standard definition, an encyclopedia is to \"treat comprehensively all the various branches of knowledge\" pertaining to a particular subject. The subject of this Encyclopedia is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church. This is the first major encyclopedia published about the Mormons. It presents the work of hundreds of Latter-day Saint (LDS) lay scholars and others from throughout the world and provides a comprehensive reporting of Mormon history, scripture, doctrines, life, and knowledge, intended for both the non-Mormon and the LDS reader. Readers will find an article on almost any topic conceivably related to the general topic of Mormonism, but no article is exhaustive because of space limitations. Most articles include bibliographic references; cross-references to other articles in the Encyclopedia are indicated by small capital letters. When Macmillan Publishing Company asked authorities at Brigham Young University whether they would be interested in developing an encyclopedia about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Jeffrey R. Holland took the query to his Board of Trustees. They instructed him to proceed. Working closely with Church authorities and Macmillan, President Holland chose an editor in chief and a board of editors. Discussion of possible titles concluded that the work should be called the Encyclopedia of Mormonism since that is the term by which the Church is most widely known, though unofficially. The contract called for a work of one million words in about 1,500 articles in four volumes including pictures, maps, charts, appendices, indices, and a glossary. It soon became apparent that references to what the Church calls the standard works-the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price-would be so frequent that readers who did not have ready access to those works would be at a serious disadvantage in using the Encyclopedia. A fifth volume was decided upon to include all the LDS standard works except the Bible, which is readily available everywhere. The Church does not have a paid clergy or a battery of theologians to write the articles. It functions with a lay ministry, and all members are encouraged to become scholars of the gospel. Over 730 men and women were asked to write articles on topics assigned because of previous interest and study. Six major articles unfold the History of the Church: (1) the background and founding period in New York; (2) the Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois periods ending with the martyrdom of Joseph Smith; (3) the exodus west and the early pioneer period under Brigham Young; (4) the late pioneer Utah period ending at the turn of the century and statehood; (5) a transitional period during the early twentieth century; and (6) the post-World War II period of international growth. The History of the Church has been dramatic and moving, considering its brief span of just over 160 years. Compared to Catholicism, Judaism, ancient Far East religions, and many Protestant churches, the Church has a very short history. Nearly 250 articles explain the doctrines of the Church, with special emphasis on basic principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Twenty-four articles are clustered under the title \"Jesus Christ,\" and another sixteen include his name in the title or relate directly to his divine mission and Atonement. Over 150 articles relate the details on such topics as the First Vision, Zion\'s Camp, Handcart Companies, Plural Marriage, the Salt Lake Temple, Temple Square, and the Church throughout the world. Biographies cover men and women contemporary in the life of Joseph Smith, Presidents of the Church, and auxiliary founders and past presidents. The only biography of a person living at the time of publication is on the present prophet and President of the Church, Ezra Taft Benson. And finally, there are over a hundred articles primarily concerned with how Latter-day Saints relate to their families, the Church, and to society in general. It is said there is a \"Mormon culture,\" and several articles explore Mormon lifestyle, folklore, folk art, artists, literature, and other facets that distinguish Latter-day Saints. It may be that the growth of the Church in the last decades has mandated the encyclopedic account that is presented here. Yet, even as the most recent programs were set down and the latest figures listed, there is an acute awareness that the basic tenet of the Church is that its canon is open-ended. The contemporary President of the Church is sustained as a \"prophet, seer, and revelator.\" While this makes some theological discussion moot, the basic beliefs of the Latter-day Saints, summarized in the Articles of Faith (see Glossary) do not change. In several areas, the Church shares beliefs held by other Christians, and a number of scholars from other faiths were asked to present articles. However, the most distinctive tenets of the Church-those regarding the premortal and postmortal life, living prophets who receive continuous and current revelation from God, sacred ordinances for deceased ancestors, moral and health codes that provide increasingly well-documented benefits, and the potential within man for progression into an infinite future-are all treated primarily by writers selected from among Latter-day Saints. Lest the role of the Encyclopedia be given more weight than it deserves, the editors make it clear that those who have written and edited have only tried to explain their understanding of Church history, doctrines, and procedures; their statements and opinions remain their own. The Encyclopedia of Mormonism is a joint product of Brigham Young University and Macmillan Publishing Company, and its contents do not necessarily represent the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In no sense does the Encyclopedia have the force and authority of scripture.
Volume 5 contains the complete texts of The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price.
An encyclopedic work attending to a number of Book of Mormon topics. Entries deal with biography, history, and doctrine.
Abstract: We are often at the dubious mercy of people, forces, and events that are beyond our control. But a trust in Providence — a word that is used relatively seldom these days for power that transcends even those people, forces, and events and that can, in the end, overrule them for our good — can nonetheless give us serene confidence. That such providential power exists, that it is personal and caring, is one of the fundamental messages of the scriptures and the prophets.
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. (Isaiah 46:10-11).
Discusses the eschatological theories of the early Christian church. Intended to be included in The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley.
RSC Topics > Q — S > Revelation
Review of: Michael Dowd. Thank God for Evolution. New York: W. W. Norton, 2004. 336 pp., with index. $13.95. Karl W. Giberson. Saving Darwin: How to be a Christian and Believe in Evolution. New York: HarperCollins, 2008. 239 pp., with index. $9.98. Daniel J. Fairbanks. Relics of Eden: The Powerful Evidence of Evolution in Human DNA. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2007. 281 pp., with index. $15.86. Howard C. Stutz. “Let the Earth Bring Forth”, Evolution and Scripture. Draper, UT: Greg Kofford Books, 2010. 130 pp., with index. $15.95 David C. Stove. Darwinian Fairytales: Selfish Genes, Errors of Heredity, and Other Fables of Evolution. New York: Encounter Books, 1995. 345 pp., with index. $18.95 William A. Dembski. The End of Christianity: Finding a Good God in an Evil World. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2009. 229 pp., with index. $22.99 The position of the Church on the origin of man was published by the First Presidency in 1909 and stated again by a different First Presidency in 1925:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, basing its belief on divine revelation, ancient and modern, declares man to be the direct and lineal offspring of Deity…. Man is the child of God, formed in the divine image and endowed with divine attributes…
The scriptures tell why man was created, but they do not tell how, though the Lord has promised that he will tell that when he comes again (D&C 101:32–33). In 1931, when there was intense discussion on the issue of organic evolution, the First Presidency of the Church, then consisting of Presidents Heber J. Grant, Anthony W. Ivins, and Charles W. Nibley, addressed all of the General Authorities of the Church on the matter and concluded,Upon the fundamental doctrines of the Church we are all agreed. Our mission is to bear the message of the restored gospel to the world. Leave geology, biology, archaeology, and anthropology, no one of which has to do with the salvation of the souls of mankind, to scientific research, while we magnify our calling in the realm of the Church.… Upon one thing we should all be able to agree, namely, that Presidents Joseph F. Smith, John R. Winder, and Anthon H. Lund were right when they said: “Adam is the primal parent of our race.”
—First Presidency Minutes, April 7, 1931 ((Cited in William E. Evenson, “Evolution,” Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol. 1, (Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992), 478.)).
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, May 25, 1862. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
RSC Topics > A — C > Atonement of Jesus Christ
RSC Topics > A — C > Covenant
RSC Topics > A — C > Creation
RSC Topics > D — F > Endowment
RSC Topics > D — F > Fall of Adam and Eve
RSC Topics > L — P > Ordinances
RSC Topics > A — C > Atonement of Jesus Christ
RSC Topics > A — C > Covenant
RSC Topics > A — C > Creation
RSC Topics > D — F > Endowment
RSC Topics > D — F > Fall of Adam and Eve
RSC Topics > L — P > Ordinances
RSC Topics > D — F > Endowment
RSC Topics > L — P > Ordinances
RSC Topics > L — P > Priesthood
RSC Topics > Q — S > Salvation
RSC Topics > Q — S > Sealing
The Lord’s firm assurance to the Prophet was laden with profound implications for the future of missionary work in the Church. Joseph must have wondered, even if he did not doubt, how the great prophecies and promises made to and through him were to be fulfilled if he were separated from the Church.
“The thing is, we never know what blessings await us when we are asked to endure or when they will come, only that they will assuredly come.”
[The] responsibility to endure is uniquely yours. But you are never alone. I testify that the lifting power of the Lord can be yours.
It is possible to reach your goals if you work hard, keep the right perspective, and use your challenges as opportunities to grow and develop.
RSC Topics > G — K > Gospel of Jesus Christ
Joy is the key to our spiritual survival in the trying times in which we live, as well as in the trying times that lie ahead of us.
The history of Relief Society is recorded in words and numbers, but the heritage is passed heart to heart.
The Prophet Joseph is an example and a teacher of enduring well in faith. … I thank and love him as the Lord’s prophet of the Restoration.
The principle of enduring to the end is specifically taught 22 times throughout the Book of Mormon. Endurance might be considered the fifth of the first principles and ordinances. God’s children are to endure afflictions and temptations, to continue in the faith, and are entitled to divine help. Enemies of endurance include Satan’s inspiration, murmuring, hardness of heart, immorality, apostasy, and priestcraft.
The ward is organized to minister to the needs of those who face even the most difficult and heartbreaking trials.
RSC Topics > Q — S > Salvation
Each of us needs to train ourselves to be bold, disciplined, and loyal men of the priesthood who are prepared with the proper weapons to fight against evil and to win.
RSC Topics > Q — S > Scriptures
If we want to be respected today for who we are, then we need to act confidently—secure in the knowledge of who we are and what we stand for—and not as if we have to apologize for our beliefs.
RSC Topics > L — P > Living the Gospel
RSC Topics > L — P > Missionary Work
RSC Topics > T — Z > Testimony
Photographic presentation of Book of Mormon editions in English.
Opening Address by Elder Orson Hyde, Delivered before his Class at the Social Hall, G. S. L. City, on Tuesday evening, December 14, 1858. Reported By: Unknown.
This article discusses the process of making a duplication of the engravings of the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon.
Contains depictions of stone, copper, and clay tablets, boxes and other objects upon which are found ancient engravings.
RSC Topics > T — Z > Teaching the Gospel
There is a difference in just attending the temple and having a rich spiritual experience.
The Book of Mormon contains the fulness of the gospel of Christ. Many critics have pointed out that Joseph Smith’s later Nauvoo period teachings are not contained in the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith’s later teachings pertain to the higher order of the Church of the Firstborn, the gospel of the Father, the doctrine of exaltation, which supersedes and is built on the gospel of Jesus Christ, the doctrine of salvation. The Book of Mormon hints at such teachings but does not reveal them (3 Nephi 27:10, 23, 3 Nephi 26:6-11, 16, 18).
Solomon Spaulding, born in Connecticut in 1761, wrote the romantic novel that is alleged to have provided the “historical” source of the Book of Mormon. It was a fictional novel about a ship of Roman soldiers “in the time of Constantine driven by storm to the New World” who became a part of the Indians. He was known to believe in the Hebrew origin of the Indians.
Illustrated 17p. report of the ancient stone tower standing beside a wadi on the al Hauta coast and the collapsed tower at Khor Kharfot, both claimed to be the lower end of a pulley system from the overlooking mountains and both attributed to the Minjui people (ca. AD 1000).
“There are valleys as well as peaks, broken bones as well as victory feasts, exhaustion as well as jubilation.”
Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, April 29, 1877. Reported By: Geo. F. Gibbs.
Remarks by President Daniel H. Wells, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, October 26, 1862. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Discusses John 10:14-16 where the Savior speaks of his other sheep. The Book of Mormon reveals that this other “fold” was the branch of Israel in America.
As we elevate ourselves intellectually, spiritually, and in character-building ways, we will encounter new and exciting challenges and opportunities that we have not seen before.
Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, December 20, 1857. Reported By: Leo Hawkins.
Review of Jeffrey M. Bradshaw and David J. Larsen, In God’s Image and Likeness 2: Enoch, Noah, and the Tower of Babel (Salt Lake City, Utah: The Interpreter Foundation and Eborn Books, 2014), 590 pp. (full color interior includes footnotes; endnotes; three excursus sections; annotated bibliography on Enoch and the Flood; comprehensive reference list; thumbnail index of one hundred and eleven illustrations and photographs; and indexes of scriptures referenced, modern prophets quoted, and topics discussed). $49.99 (hardcover).
Reprinted with the kind permission of the Association for Mormon Letters.
In this article, I will explore the notion of communal ascent to heaven in ancient Jewish and Christian literature and seek to answer the questions, Can an entire community ascend to heaven? and Do we see this theme in ancient texts, or is this a complete innovation on the part of Joseph Smith as he sought to unite his followers around an inspiring and unifying goal? To arrive at the answers to these questions, I will analyze a number of ancient Jewish and Christian religious texts that feature the ascent to heaven motif and suggest that not only did their authors envision an individual ascent, but they also imagined groups or communities raised up to the celestial realm.
This ebook contains three articles from a conference on Enoch and the temple that was cosponsored by BYU Studies in February 2013 at Utah State University and BYU. George Nickelsburg, an eminent biblical scholar, identifies much temple content in the book of 1 Enoch: Enoch’s commissioning and ascension into the heavenly sanctuary. David Larsen discusses ancient sources regarding a community ascending to heaven as a group. Jeffrey M. Bradshaw shows what ties together the stories about Adam, Eve, Enoch, and Noah in the Book of Moses. The answer, unexpectedly, has to do again with temple motifs, all of which culminate with Enoch in Moses 6–7. The original video presentations of these articles are also included. Finally, this ebook contains an article by Stephen D. Ricks discussing the prophetic commission of Enoch, which is a striking example of a “narrative” type of call (see Moses 6:23–36). This study considers the elements of the narrative call pattern; those elements of this form found in the prophetic commission of Enoch are examined and compared with the biblical narrative call passages. Contents “The Temple According to 1 Enoch” George W. E. Nickelsburg “Enoch and the City of Zion: Can an Entire Community Ascend to Heaven?” David J. Larsen “The LDS Story of Enoch as the Culminating Episode of a Temple Text” Jeffrey M. Bradshaw “The Narrative Call Pattern in the Prophetic Commission of Enoch (Moses 6)” Stephen D. Ricks Video Presentations from the conference “Enoch and the Temple”
Reprinted in Enoch the Prophet, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 2.
Discusses the book of Enoch and its relationship with the Pearl of Great Price.
“Enoch the Prophet” (1976)
“Enoch the Prophet” (1986)
Book of Moses Topics > Chapters of the Book of Moses > Moses 6:13–7 — Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Enoch
Reprinted in Enoch the Prophet, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 2.
Discusses the book of Enoch and its relationship with the Pearl of Great Price.
“Enoch the Prophet” (1975)
“Enoch the Prophet” (1986)
Book of Moses Topics > Chapters of the Book of Moses > Moses 6:13–7 — Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Enoch
Originally presented as a lecture given 22 November 1975 for the Pearl of Great Price Symposium at Brigham Young University.
Discusses the book of Enoch and its relationship with the Pearl of Great Price.
“Enoch the Prophet” (1975)
“Enoch the Prophet” (1976)
Book of Moses Topics > Chapters of the Book of Moses > Moses 6:13–7 — Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Enoch
In the Book of Moses, part of the Latter-day Saint scriptural canon known as the Pearl of Great Price, are what the Prophet Joseph Smith entitled “extracts from the prophecy of Enoch.” These scriptures, says the eminent Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley, “supply us with the most valuable control yet on the bona fides of the Prophet. . . . We are to test. . . . ‘How does it compare with records known to be authentic?’ The excerpts offer the nearest thing to a perfectly foolproof test—neat, clear-cut, and decisive—of Joseph Smith’s claim to inspiration.”
In Enoch the Prophet, Dr. Nibley examines and defends that claim by examining Joseph Smith’s translations in the context of recently discovered apocryphal sources.
This book contains a collection of various comparisons of the Enoch materials in the Book of Moses with the Slavonic and Ethiopic Enoch texts and other related materials and lore from antiquity, showing the possibility that Joseph Smith’s book of Enoch could be authentic ancient text.
Book of Moses Topics > Chapters of the Book of Moses > Moses 6:13–7 — Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Enoch
Old Testament Topics > Symposia and Collections of Essays
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley (CWHN)
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Moses > Characters > Enoch
Review of George W. E. Nickelsburg. 1 Enoch 1: A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch, Chapters 1–36; 81–108
Book of Moses Topics > Chapters of the Book of Moses > Moses 6:13–7 — Enoch
Book of Moses Topics > Chapters of the Book of Moses > Moses 6:13–7 — Enoch
One of the most prominent themes in the first eleven chapters of the Bible is a series of transgressions of boundaries that had been set up in the beginning to separate mankind from the dwelling place of God. This general thesis is useful as far as it goes. In the stories of the transgressions of Adam and Eve, of Cain, of Lamech, of the “sons of God” who married the “daughters of men,” and of the builders of the Tower of Babel, we cannot fail to observe the common thread of a God who places strict boundaries between the human and the divine. Surprisingly, however, a significant and opposite theme has been largely neglected by readers: namely, the fact that within some of these same chapters God is also portrayed as having sought to erase the divine-human boundary for a righteous few, drawing them into His very presence. The prime examples of this motif are, of course, Enoch and Noah, of whom it was explicitly said that they “walked with God.”
A discussion of remarks given at Brigham Young University by Professor Matthew Black and his wife, Ethel.
Cartoon pages for children telling the story of how Enos went into the wilderness to pray.
An illustrated story for children about Enos.
Enos presents a positive model of how prayer is to be conducted.
A story for children that recounts Enos’s experiences as he went into the forest and prayed (Jacob 7:27; Enos).
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Enos
Less than a generation after Sariah and Lehi arrive in the promised land, their family fractures in two. The books of Enos, Jarom, and Omni feature seven authors recounting five generations of fallout from this division. Whether the people and their records will be preserved is in constant doubt. Yet, the authors continue writing in order to keep hope alive despite civil wars and precarious political reorganizations. In this brief theological introduction, literary scholar and theologian Sharon J. Harris investigates this messy middle era between the genesis of the Nephite people and their reorganization under King Benjamin. What keeps things—relatively—together? Harris uncovers the personalities, concerns, and patterns of righteousness and wickedness that are often overlooked in these short books. She illustrates how Latter-day Saints today might learn to better keep covenants and pass a promising inheritance to those who come after.
Describes the historical setting of the Nephites and Lamanites during the time of Enos, provides a brief summary of the book of Enos, and then focuses upon Enos, a man of great faith.
RSC Topics > L — P > Prayer
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Words of Mormon
A children’s version of Enos and his prayer.
Illuminates certain features of the Book of Mormon to encourage the reading of the book. The Book of Mormon is intended to be an ensign to the nations, Joseph Smith was the “choice seer” designated to bring it forth. Comments on how the Book of Mormon relates to the remnant of Ephraim, the gentiles, the Lamanites, the Jews, and the lost tribes. Includes a study of the allegory of the olive tree, and the building of two Zions, one in New Jerusalem, one in Jerusalem. [L.D. & D.M.]
If we teach by the Spirit and you listen by the Spirit, some one of us will touch on your circumstance.
If we are to [be] an ensign to the nations and a light to the world, we must take on more of the luster of the life of Christ.
To ensure a righteous judgment, the Savior’s atoning sacrifice will clear away the underbrush of ignorance and the painful thorns of hurt caused by others.
You are part of the Lord’s army. You don’t need to be set apart for that. The call to stand up for the truth is not a Church calling. It is a life calling.
We have great opportunities because of the experiences that we share, and we can bring each other forward as we enter to learn and go forth to serve.
Service is not just connected to joy in some amorphous, general way. Service is an essential part of the refining process that makes true joy possible.
RSC Topics > G — K > Jesus Christ
RSC Topics > G — K > Joseph Smith
RSC Topics > Q — S > Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
RSC Topics > Q — S > Restoration of the Gospel
RSC Topics > A — C > Book of Abraham
RSC Topics > A — C > Book of Mormon
RSC Topics > D — F > Dispensations
RSC Topics > D — F > Doctrine
RSC Topics > D — F > Faith
RSC Topics > D — F > Fall of Adam and Eve
RSC Topics > G — K > Gift of the Holy Ghost
RSC Topics > Q — S > Repentance
RSC Topics > D — F > Death
RSC Topics > D — F > Doctrine
RSC Topics > D — F > Doctrine and Covenants
RSC Topics > D — F > Fall of Adam and Eve
RSC Topics > Q — S > Quorum
RSC Topics > Q — S > Quorums of the Seventy
RSC Topics > Q — S > Revelation
RSC Topics > D — F > Doctrine
RSC Topics > D — F > Faith
RSC Topics > L — P > Peace
RSC Topics > D — F > First Presidency
RSC Topics > G — K > Gift of the Holy Ghost
RSC Topics > G — K > Holy Ghost
RSC Topics > A — C > Book of Mormon
RSC Topics > G — K > Jesus Christ
RSC Topics > G — K > Joseph Smith
RSC Topics > L — P > Pearl of Great Price
RSC Topics > A — C > Baptism
RSC Topics > A — C > Bishop
RSC Topics > A — C > Book of Mormon
RSC Topics > G — K > Justice
RSC Topics > L — P > Peace
RSC Topics > A — C > Baptism
RSC Topics > A — C > Bishop
RSC Topics > G — K > Jesus Christ
RSC Topics > T — Z > Tithing
RSC Topics > L — P > Marriage
RSC Topics > L — P > Prophets
RSC Topics > Q — S > Revelation
Old Testament Topics > Israel, Scattering and Gathering
Old Testament Topics > Ephraim
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.
Reprinted in Lehi in the Desert; The World of the Jaredites; There Were Jaredites, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 5.
Discussions of the book of Enoch and its relationship to the Book of Abraham and other ancient texts and folklore.
Originally printed as an article in the Improvement Era series There Were Jaredites.
Discussions of the book of Enoch and its relationship to the Book of Abraham and other ancient texts and folklore.
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.
RSC Topics > D — F > Family History
RSC Topics > L — P > Ordinances
RSC Topics > Q — S > Salvation
RSC Topics > T — Z > Youth
RSC Topics > L — P > Parenting
RSC Topics > T — Z > Temples
The final article in the Improvement Era series Since CUmorah: New Voices from the Dust.
A summary of the Since Cumorah series, and some final thoughts.
RSC Topics > G — K > Holy Ghost
RSC Topics > L — P > Law of Moses
RSC Topics > Q — S > Sacrifice
RSC Topics > Q — S > Salvation
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.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Moroni
Individuals can build their testimony through attendance at church meetings and scripture study, especially study of the Book of Mormon.
Individuals can build their testimony through attendance at church meetings and scripture study, especially study of the Book of Mormon.
This article tells youth that they can find answers in the scriptures and uses stories and quotes from the Book of Mormon and the Bible to show this.
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.
Originally published in An Approach to the Book of Mormon (1957).
“There is no more authentic bit of Oriental ““culture-history” than that presented in Nephi’s account of the brothers’ visits to the city. Because it is so authentic, it has appeared strange and overdrawn to western critics unacquainted with the ways of the
East and has been singled out for attack as the most vulnerable part of the Book of Mormon. It contains the most widely discussed and generally condemned episode in the whole book, namely, the slaying of Laban, which many have declared to be unallowable on moral grounds and inadmissible on practical grounds. It is maintained that the thing simply could not have taken place as Nephi describes it. In this lesson, these objections are answered.
“
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Books > 1 Nephi
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Places > Old World > Jerusalem
This article is an attempt to reconcile the biblical account of Zedekiah’s capture and the implied extermination of all his male royal line, with the Book of Mormon account of an escape by one son, referred to as Mulek. The author attempts a reconciliation between the two accounts.
As women of faith, we can draw principles of truth from the Prophet Joseph’s experiences that provide insights for receiving our own revelation.
A polemical work divided in two parts, one dedicated to the history of the Church and the second to the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon contains anachronisms, mistakenly uses Greek words, and presents supernatural and miraculous events that are not to be believed. Joseph Smith’s claim that the Book of Mormon was written in reformed Egyptian does not hold up, and the Book of Mormon introduces new doctrine.
Abstract: The author introduces the subject of the essay based on scripture by observing that one true morality governs the heavens and exists to govern mortality, which contains all possible ways to live in time and eternity and orders them into a hierarchy of rational preferability. In order to live their endless lives with enduring purpose and fullness, humankind must undertake two stages of probationary preparation, one as premortals and one that begins with mortality and concludes in the post-mortal world with the final judgment, in which they come to know for themselves the one morality and accept its ordering of the many never-ending ways of life and hence the ways they have proven themselves willing to receive. With that introduction in mind, in the next two sections of the essay the author explores what some latter-day scripture reveals about the moral facts that make possible knowledge of the one morality, about how humankind determines good from bad ways to live as they undertake the second stage of probationary preparation, about how they can come to a knowledge of the best way of life contained in that morality, and how in the end they have a perfect knowledge of it.
In the final section of the essay, the author investigates how it was that in the premortal world the hosts of heaven, knowing and accepting as they did the one true morality, nevertheless became deeply divided over two incompatible plans of salvation as they prepared for moral life and went to war over them. A major theme of the essay is that the one morality, and every way to live it contains, center on persons becoming and living as agents unto themselves. The upshot is that the principle of freedom, which prescribes the full collective and personal realization of human agency and which belongs to all humankind at every stage of their endless existence, is the fundamental principle of that eternal morality.
When love becomes the guiding principle in our care for others, our service to them becomes the gospel in action.
Sister Jones reiterates the importance of teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to our children.
Drawing from the very best of Hugh Nibley, this collection of excerpts feels more like a guided tour through a brilliant mind than a quote book. Arranged thematically, it covers the highlights of Nibley’s best thinking and writing on everything from the Creation through ancient people, times, and documents, to modern-day prophets and righteous living today. Two features give great insight into the man and his life’s work: a very personal life sketch about Hugh Nibley written by his grandson, and an introduction about Nibley’s contribution to LDS literature and scholarship, his unique dynamic within the Church, and his abiding testimony. With highlights drawn from nearly 10,000 pages of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, The Essential Nibley shows how Nibley continues to give thinkers something to believe in and believers something to think about, even today.
We must prepare ourselves to assist the missionaries in finding those of our Heavenly Father’s children who will embrace the message of the Restoration.
The First Vision and the Prophet Joseph Smith brought forth knowledge and truth that are essential to our happiness in this life and to our exaltation.
Good work habits are essential to success. This applies to everything we do—from earning a living to the work we do at home, at school, or in church.
Contains a historical account of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon—the visit of the angel Moroni, the translation, the lost manuscript, the witnesses and their testimonies.
RSC Topics > G — K > Heaven
We understand and believe in the eternal nature of the family. This understanding and belief should inspire us to do everything in our power to establish a Christ-centered home.
Establishing His Church is a unique assignment. We must take the gospel of Jesus Christ to all people in their own language without defiling the purity of the message.
RSC Topics > L — P > New Testament
RSC Topics > L — P > Old Testament
RSC Topics > Q — S > Scriptures
RSC Topics > L — P > Ordinances
Discourse by Apostle Lorenzo Snow, delivered at Logan, Sunday, May 6, 1882. Reported By: Geo. F. Gibbs.
Remarks by Heber C. Kimball, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 3, 1860. Reported By: J. V. Long.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 3, 1861. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Remarks by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered at the General Conference, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Monday Morning, April 7, 1873. Reported By: David W. Evans.
Old Testament Scriptures > 1 & 2 Kings/1 & 2 Chronicles
Old Testament Topics > Priesthood
Abstract: Some have come to insist that the Book of Mormon should be read as inspired fiction, which is to say that readers, including Latter-day Saints, should abandon any belief in the Book of Mormon as an authentic ancient text and instead should see it as an inspired frontier novel written by Joseph Smith that may act as scripture for those who follow his teachings. This paper provides reasoning to reject this proposition as not only logically incoherent but also theologically impotent.
It raises the objection that this position fundamentally undercuts the credibility of Joseph Smith. The Prophet’s direct claims concerning the coming forth of the Book of Mormon as well as how the Book of Mormon presents itself to the world do not easily permit any leeway for a “middle ground” on this matter.
The Book of Mormon must be read as an ancient,
not as a modern book. Its mission, as described by
the book itself, depends in great measure for
its efficacy on its genuine antiquity.
—Hugh Nibley.
The temple sealing has greater meaning as life unfolds. It will help you draw ever closer together and find greater joy and fulfillment.
Humility about who we are and God’s purpose for us is essential.
External evidences of the Book of Mormon include the testimony of eleven witnesses, the fulillment of many prophecies, and modern archaeological discoveries. The greatest evidence, however, comes from reading, praying, and pondering the message of the book.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 28, 1862. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Our priesthood obligation is to put our families and the families of those around us at the center of our concern.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, February 17, 1856. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Remarks by President Daniel H. Wells, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, General Conference, Oct. 8, 1865. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
To know the Lord Jesus Christ, we and all mankind must receive Him. And to receive Him, we must receive His servants.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1859. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Remarks by President Daniel H. Wells, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 18, 1867. Reported By: David W. Evans.
God and Christ are literally a Father and a Son—separate, distinct, individual beings who are wholly unified in Their purpose.
If you want something to last forever, you treat it differently. … It becomes special because you have made it so.
RSC Topics > D — F > Family
RSC Topics > L — P > Marriage
RSC Topics > L — P > Old Testament
RSC Topics > L — P > Priesthood
RSC Topics > Q — S > Sealing
Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered at American Fork, Friday, November 28, 1879. Reported By: Geo. F. Gibbs.
I urge you to view things from an eternal perspective—in the light of God’s great plan of salvation. As you do so, your past, present, and future will be more meaningful, more fruitful, and more joyful.
Rafael E. Pino teaches that understanding the plan of salvation gives us an eternal perspective that helps us value the commandments, our covenants, and trials and tribulations.
We can’t rely on other people’s testimonies, nor can we place the responsibility of our choices on others. President Nelson has entreated us to assume control and become responsible for our own testimony.
The greatest joy is in the peace of knowing that we are following the path that leads us to eternal life, that our house is in order, and that we are preparing to meet our Savior.
Elder Montoya teaches the importance of loving God and ministering to those around us. Our Heavenly Father’s love for each of His children is real. He is there for each one.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, January 12, 1862. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Remarks by President Daniel H. Wells, made in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, September 14, 1862. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Our need to recognize truth has never been more important!
I know that [Heavenly Father] loves us, sisters, as does His Son, Jesus Christ. That love will never change—it is constant.
Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Sunday Afternoon, Jan. 2, 1881. Reported By: Geo. F. Gibbs.
Maintaining our spiritual strength is … a daily challenge. The greatest source of that spiritual strength comes … from our temples.
Remarks made by President Heber C. Kimball, April 31, 1859. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Review of View of the Hebrews (2nd ed., 1996), by Ethan Smith
RSC Topics > L — P > Prophets
Following the destruction of the Nephite people, Moroni works in solitude to complete a long-promised translation of an ancient record: the Jaredite plates. Discovered amid the ruins of a lost civilization, this record had captivated Nephites’ imaginations for centuries. Now Moroni sees foreshadowed therein the spiritual wonders and historical tragedies of his own people. In this brief theological introduction, literary scholar Rosalynde Frandsen Welch explores the book of Ether—a sweeping history in which Moroni, absorbed in the past, turns his heart to future readers whose spiritual fate will be at stake. According to Welch, Moroni’s work as translator-prophet brilliantly reframes the nature of scripture itself. Like the brother of Jared’s luminous stones, Moroni’s offering glows with his powerful testimony of Christ. In faith, his record extends the promise of Christ’s saving power to people in every place and time.
“I propose three related ways of further developing this subfield of Book of Mormon studies: (1) catching up to biblical studies, (2) participating in broader conversations outside and within the Latter-day Saint tradition, and (3) articulating the Book of Mormon’s vision of human flourishing. I will also suggest that Book of Mormon scholarship on ethics may itself, to borrow a phrase, be a ’way of doing ethics,’ meaning that it should be responsible, relevant, and self-aware, and should ultimately contribute to more ethical theorizations of scripture and moral and religious life.” [Author]
RSC Topics > T — Z > Tolerance
RSC Topics > T — Z > Welfare
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.
Nephi set the racist attitude of the Book of Mormon, one similar to biblical record keepers. The mark placed on those who sinned was propagated by themselves by either marking their own bodies or by intermarriage with those who had been genetically marked with a dark skin. Latter-day Saint people need to put away racial attitudes and see that God recognizes all men as equal.
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.
RSC Topics > G — K > Justice
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.
RSC Topics > T — Z > War
RSC Topics > D — F > Doctrine
RSC Topics > Q — S > Revelation
RSC Topics > Q — S > Salvation
RSC Topics > G — K > Gold Plates
RSC Topics > T — Z > Testimony
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.
Abstract: Historically there have been just three basic arguments against the authenticity of Joseph Smith’s first vision. They all begin with the a priori premise that such a vision simply could not have happened. The arguments originated with the Methodist minister to whom Joseph related his vision, author Fawn Brodie, and the Reverend Wesley Walters. The minister’s critique is explained by Methodism’s shift away from ecstatic religious experience. Fawn Brodie is shown to have made innovative yet flawed arguments within the narrow scope allowed by her conclusion that Joseph was a charlatan—a conclusion that did not allow for alternative interpretations of new evidence. Walters is shown to make fallacious arguments of irrelevant proof and negative proof in his understandably determined effort to undermine Joseph Smith’s credibility. Close-minded believers in Joseph’s vision are similarly likely to make unfounded assumptions unless they become open to the rich historical record Joseph created. Belief in the vision should correspond to Christian empathy for and civility toward critics.
No abstract available.
Evaluates the use of Book of Mormon filmstrips in youth classrooms to determine their pedagogical effectiveness.
Review of Kevin T. Bauder, R. Albert Mohler Jr., John G. Stackhouse Jr., Roger E. Olson. Four Views on the Spectrum of Evangelicalism. Edited by Stanley N. Gundry, Andrew David Naselli, and Collin Hansen. Introduction by Collin Hansen. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011. 222 pp., with scripture index and general index. $16.99 (paperback).
Abstract: Four Views on the Spectrum of Evangelicalism should be helpful to Latter-day Saints (and others) seeking to understand some of the theological controversies lurking behind contemporary fundamentalist/evangelical religiosity. Four theologians spread along a spectrum speak for different competing factions of conservative Protestants: Kevin Bauder ((Bauder is a research professor at Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota.)) for what turns out to be his own somewhat moderate version of Protestant fundamentalism; Al Mohler ((In 1993 Mohler became the President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.)) for conservative/confessional ((The labels used to identify the brand of fundamentalism/evangelicalism for which each author speaks are somewhat problematic. For example, to me it seems that Al Mohler speaks for the Calvinist/Reformed version of evangelicalism which is currently in ascendance within the Southern Baptist Convention.)) evangelicalism; John Stackhouse ((Stackhouse is professor of theology and culture at Regent College in Vancouver, Canada.)) for generic evangelicalism; and Roger Olson ((Olson is professor of theology at George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University.)) for postconservative evangelicalism. Each author introduces his own position and then is critiqued in turn by the others, after which there is a rejoinder. In addition, as I point out in detail, each of these authors has something negative to say about the faith of Latter-day Saints.
Review of How Wide the Divide: A mormon and an Evangelical in Conversation (1997), by Craig L. Blomberg and Stephen E. Robinson
Reprinted under the title “The Forty-day Mission of Christ: The Forgotten Heritage,” in When the Lights Went Out, 1970.
How apocryphal texts shed some light on the Forty Days mentioned in Acts 1:3.
Originally printed as “Evangelium Quadraginta Dierum“ in Vigiliae Christianae.
How apocryphal texts shed some light on the Forty Days mentioned in Acts 1:3.
God … has ensured that the truths regarding God are understandable to all His children, whatever their level of education or intellectual faculty.
We can all receive unspeakable peace and partnering with our Savior as we learn to freely forgive those who have trespassed against us.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Mosiah
I do have a testimony that you can stand up to worldly influences that would draw you away from your beliefs and say, in mighty voices, “Even if all, not I.” Those who see and hear you can know of your testimonies of the Savior and our Father in Heaven.
Remarks by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, January 1, 1871. Reported By: David W. Evans.
RSC Topics > T — Z > Welfare
“God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom.” You have knowledge and skill and know how to learn so that you may acquire wisdom.
RSC Topics > L — P > Learning
RSC Topics > L — P > Love
Discusses how the Book of Mormon was translated, and the phraseology in the book that identifies the everlasting covenant of salvation. The Book of Mormon uses different language than the Doctrine and Covenants and Bible with regard to the everlasting covenant.
RSC Topics > Q — S > Restoration of the Gospel
Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered at the Quarterly Conference, Held in Ogden, Oct. 21, 1877. Reported By: the Ogden Junction.
Review of Book of Mormon Dictionary (1988), by George Reynolds.
RSC Topics > A — C > Agency
RSC Topics > A — C > Atonement of Jesus Christ
RSC Topics > A — C > Church History 1820–1844
RSC Topics > Q — S > Revelation
Old Testament Topics > Teaching the Old Testament
Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, April 7, 1867. Reported By: David W. Evans.
We want you to bless your life and home with the influence and power of Relief Society.
The Book of Mormon is “doctrinally relevant” in today’s world as it provides answers to vital questions concerning Christ’s divinity, mission, resurrection, the essential nature of baptism, the power of the Holy Ghost, God as a God of miracles, and the reality of a inal day of judgment.
The Ensign recently interviewed Elder Monte J. Brough of the presidency of the Seventy, executive director of the Family History Department, and discussed temple and family history work.
I believe that each of us can be renewed in mind and spirit as we sincerely seek for those things that money cannot buy.
Our Heavenly Father has provided us with great and marvelous gifts for our journey here in mortality—and for the greatest quest of all: to come unto our Savior and gain eternal life.
How the statements cursing Eve in the garden were symbolic
Old Testament Topics > Adam and Eve [see also Fall]
Old Testament Topics > Women in the Old Testament
Argues that science and religion cannot “prove” or “disprove” the existence of God; however, reason and faith each have their role to play in the pursuit of truth. Modern scientific methods along with modern revelation (i.e. Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon) are outlined as a means for drawing conclusions concerning the reality of God.
Joseph Mahan of the Columbus (Ga.) Museum of Arts and Crafts sees evidence that people from the eastern Mediterranean have migrated to America since 2,000 B.C. A clay tablet containing Sumerian cuneiform has been discovered. This is further evidence that people should read the Book of Mormon.
The prophecies of Abinadi in the Book of Mormon, his sacrificial death, and the deaths of his murderers all correlate with Maya rituals and ceremonies. The later order of Nehor, having common elements with the King Noah syncretic religion, also correlates with known Mesoamerican religious practices, one correlation being the Principal Bird Deity and its manifestations. Two other religious traditions, the “Great Spirit” and Amalekites, are derivatives of the Nephite religion.
Review of Fingerprints of God: Evidences from Near-Death Studies, Scientific Research on Creation, and Mormon Theology (1999), by Arvin S. Gibson
Includes questions and answers about Bible passages
Widtsoe presents external evidences as proof that the Book of Mormon is authentic: metal plates have been found, reformed Egyptian has been proven beyond a doubt, research has indicated that there were multiple authors of the book, religious beliefs of the ancient Americans conform to the Book of Mormon text.
This book meets the need for the publication of a work setting forth the evidences in proof of the truth of the Book of Mormon, first, for the benefit of the young Elders and Priests who are just commencing in their ministry, second, for the benefit and encouragement of those who have just embraced the faith, and thirdly, to correct the public mind in reference to its real intent and character. [From Preface]
Excerpts from a book by the same title. Compares descriptions of ancient American fortifications with comparable fortifications in the book of Alma. Discusses the Gadianton robbers and the visit of Martin Harris to Dr. Mitchel.
Three parts. Sets forth evidences to prove the Book of Mormon’s truthfulness to benefit those embarking on missionary work, for the encouragement of those who had just joined the Church, and to correct false doctrine concerning the Book of Mormon’s “real intent and character” Discusses scriptural accounts of the scattering and gathering of Israel, the sign of the record of Joseph, and America as a land of promise. Refutes allegations made against the Book of Mormon and issues a warning to the inhabitants of America.
Language and cultural traits of Polynesia and the Americas are compared under scores of headings. The abundant parallels indicate voyages as explanations but lack of geographical and chronological clustering leaves the picture unclear, and provides no good evidence for the LDS Hagoth-Polynesian supposition.
A Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, January 2, 1859. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Defends the Book of Mormon, drawing on proof texts found in Genesis 48-49, Psalm 85:11, and Ezekiel 37. Links truth and law with the descendants of Joseph, as found in the Book of Mormon.
Authors make reference to secular evidences related to the Book of Mormon that are offered by non- LDS scholars in such matters as medicine and astronomy. They also relate the Book of Mormon to passages in Ezekiel 37, Jeremiah 49, Genesis 49, and Isaiah 29.
A five-part series that includes a brief overview of the Book of Mormon, an account of Spanish conquerors who destroyed evidence of Hebrew influence reasoning that “Satan had counterfeited in this people the history, manners, customs, traditions, and expectations of the Hebrews,” a description of artifacts containing Hebrew characters, and evidence that the religious traditions of the Indians corroborate Book of Mormon statements.
Defends the Book of Mormon against the charge that Joseph Smith fabricated it; lists Egyptian and Hebraic influences found in the Book of Mormon; discusses the methods of translating the work and its literary style.
The coming forth of the Book of Mormon fulfills a prophecy made by David that the truth would spring forth from the earth. It is the record of the “other sheep” spoken of by the Savior. The book fulfills other scriptural prophecies in Ezekiel, Genesis, and Isaiah. There are eleven witnesses as well as Joseph Smith and thousands of others bear testimony of its truthfulness.
We do not have to physically be in the Sacred Grove to receive guidance and instruction from our Heavenly Father. Nevertheless, we must learn the language of the Spirit for ourselves and find our own sacred places in which we personally come to know the things of God by the Spirit of God.
Four part series: No 1. “The Vision of All,” focuses on Isaiah 29, the “marvelous work and a wonder,” Martin Harris’s visit to Professor Anthon, and related items. No. 2. “The Woe on the Enemies of the Marvelous Work,” having reference to Isaiah’s prophecy of a “woe” that would come upon the enemies of the “marvelous work,” or the Book of Mormon. Discusses other prophecies of Isaiah 29 related to the Book of Mormon, e.g., the deaf would hear the words of the book, the joy of the meek would increase. No. 3. “The Stick of Joseph,” presenting a discussion of Ezekiel 37 and the sticks representing the Bible and the Book of Mormon that would confound the false doctrines of the world. The Book of Mormon is the record of Joseph’s descendants in the land of promise, or America. No. 4. “Joseph’s Blessing,” connected with the Abrahamic covenant of a promised land. The family of Joseph inherited the promised land of America.
Excerpts from an address of LeGrand Richards. There are many evidences of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon—the witnesses who saw the book, many have put Moroni’s promise to the test, it makes biblical passages easier to understand.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered at Bountiful, May 17, 1868. Reported By: Edward L. Sloan.
Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Sept. 28, 1873. Reported By: David W. Evans.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, January 19, 1862. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Remarks by President Heber C. Kimball, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, December 16, 1860. Reported By: J. V. Long.
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
Old Testament Topics > Adversity [see also Job, in canonical categories]
Old Testament Topics > Bible: Joseph Smith Translation (JST)
RSC Topics > A — C > Creation
Old Testament Topics > Creation
Old Testament Topics > Science and Religion
“We can only be perfected through the Father’s plan, with the core of that plan centered in Christ and His atonement”
Joseph Smith taught that the first principle of revealed religion is to know for a certainty the character of God, and his reaffirmation of Deity as the loving, personal Father of the scriptures stands in conspicuous contrast to the confusion and obscurity of traditional and modern theologies. Just as the orthodox doctrine of an incomprehensible God who creates ex nihilo is clearly odds with the prophetic proclamation in both the Old and New Testaments, by the same measure the Latter-day Saint conception of divine creation in terms of the organization of eternal man provides a remarkable commentary on Joseph Smith’s claim to be a prophet of the Living God and on his work in the restitution of all things.
Although it may be difficult for us to completely understand the inner workings of the Atonement of the Savior, we nonetheless know everything we need to know to be recipients of its power. The Atonement brings an enabling power into our lives—cleansing us, strengthening us, and buoying us up through the challenges of life that would derail us from the path we are striving to follow.
RSC Topics > G — K > Humility
RSC Topics > Q — S > Quorum
RSC Topics > Q — S > Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
RSC Topics > Q — S > Revelation
Hugh Nibley shares some of the words of Brigham Young that demonstrate his unique character and his devotion to the goal of eternal life for the Saints.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Doctrines, Principles > Plan of Salvation, Terrible Questions > Exaltation and Eternal Life
RSC Topics > G — K > Heaven
RSC Topics > G — K > Jesus Christ
RSC Topics > G — K > Judgment
RSC Topics > Q — S > Revelation
Chapter 14 points out many references to Christ’s Atonement in the Book of Mormon. The law of Moses was a shadow and type of the Atonement, which was fulfilled by Jesus who gave his own life.
Seeks to prove that Roberts believed the Book of Mormon was of human origin and influenced by View of the Hebrews.
Examines B. H. Roberts’s unpublished manuscript, “A Book of Mormon Study,” and concludes that Mr. Roberts believed that the Book of Mormon was of human origins, and had been influenced by Priest’s Wonders of Nature and Providence. Shows photographs of the unpublished manuscript.
An literary comparison of Orson Scott Card’ Series with religiosity of the Book of Mormon. Comparing and contrasting mormon theology and doctrine as it is found between the two.
The 1829 “Articles of the Church of Christ” is a little-known antecedent to section 20 of the Doctrine and Covenants. This article explores Joseph Smith’s and Oliver Cowdery’s involvement in bringing forth these two documents that were important in laying the foundation for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Section 20 was originally labeled the “Articles and Covenants.” It was the first revelation canonized by the restored Church and the most lengthy revelation given before the first priesthood conference was held in June 1830. Scriptural commentators in recent years have described the inspired set of instructions in section 20 as “a constitution for the restored church.” In many respect, the Articles and Covenants was the Church’s earliest General Handbook of Instructions. Although Latter-day Saints typically associate the Articles and Covenants with the organization of the Church on April 6, 1830, this regulatory document had roots in earlier events: in the earliest latter-day revelations, in statements on Church ordinances and organization from the Book of Mormon, and in the preliminary set of Articles written by Oliver Cowdery in the last half of 1829.
A report on general philosophical principles of teaching and learning found in the Book of Mormon. Analysis of prominent figures such as Lehi, Nephi, Mormon, Alma, and Jesus Christ reveals their teaching preparation, purposes, and style, providing examples and principles of applications for current teachers in the LDS education system.
Tanner refutes the theory in Who Really Wrote the Book of Mormon?
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.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > 4 Nephi
Joseph Smith spent Sunday afternoon, April 7, 1844, in a grove behind the Nauvoo Temple. There he gave a funeral sermon, which lasted for over two hours, dedicated to a loyal friend named King Follett, who had been crushed by a bucket of rocks while repairing a well.1 Known today as the King Follett Discourse and widely believed to be the Prophet’s greatest sermon,2 this address was Joseph’s most cogent and forceful presentation of his Nauvoo doctrine on the nature of God, including the ideas of a plurality of Gods and the potential of man to become as God.3 Several times in the first part of the discourse, Joseph expressed his intention to “go back to the beginning” in searching out the nature of God, and a little before midway through the sermon, he undertook a commentary on the first few words of the Hebrew Bible in support of the speech’s doctrinal positions.
Review of Joseph Smith's Response to Skepticism (1992), by Robert N. Hullinger.
Review of Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Freemasonry and the Origins of Latter-day Saint Temple Ordinances (Orem, UT: The Interpreter Foundation, 2022). 556 pages. $39.99 (paperback). Abstract: With the precision of a renowned surgeon, the finesse of a master politician, the insights of an eminent theologian, and the artistic skill of an eloquent poet, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw masterfully examines the influence of Masonic rituals and symbolism on the most sacred rites of Latter-day Saints as found in our holy temples.
Old Testament Scriptures > Genesis
RSC Topics > L — P > Lifelong Learning
RSC Topics > Q — S > Scriptures
It is our duty to live our lives in such a way that we may be examples of righteousness.
Volume 1 in the Occasional Papers Series This volume contains the preliminary reports from the 1984 field campaign of the Brigham Young University excavation team at Seila in the Fayum in Egypt. As both this set of reports and those expected from later expeditions will demonstrate, the work done near the Egyptian town of Seila will have a significant impact on further studies of not only Egypt’s Old Kingdom but also the Greco-Roman era. The essays in this volume demonstrate the unusually broad approach to the project this diversity of specialists allowed the team to take. ISBN 0-8849-4680-0
A series of brief comments in which the author presents archaeological findings, architectural notes, and myths and legends that deal indirectly with the Book of Mormon. Dibble discusses the wheel, ancient irrigation methods, metals, Mexican and Mayan codices, Quetzalcoatl, ancient buildings, and numerous other related items. The thirteenth part covers archaeological work in Mexico City.
Heavenly Father’s great plan of happiness includes the doctrine, the ordinances, the covenants, and the exceeding great and precious promises whereby we can become partakers of the divine nature.
Claims that archaeological evidences in the Americas substantiate the Book of Mormon. The book, The American Indian, by Elijah M. Haines, unwittingly supports the Book of Mormon.
Old Testament Scriptures > Isaiah
Gordon B. Hinckley - I know of no single practice that will have a more salutary effect upon your lives than the practice of kneeling together as you begin and close each day. Somehow the little storms that seem to afflict every marriage are dissipated when, kneeling before the Lord, you thank him for one another, in the presence of one another, and then together invoke his blessings upon your lives, your home, your loved ones, and your dreams.
Typescript copies of two early upstate New York newspapers that provide comments about the Book of Mormon. Includes Obadiah Dogberry’s well-known satire, The Book of Pukei.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, June 28, 1857. Reported By: J. V. Long.
Tells of the discovery of a sunken city off the coast of Peru and suggests that this might be one of the sunken cities described in the Book of Mormon.
“This paper employs Ricoeur’s Interpretation Theory to analyze the effect the exclamation mark has on the readers’ interpretation of five Book of Mormon editions. Each unique instance of exclamation was obtained with its accompanying verse and these were coded by three coders for the genre they appeared in, the syntactic structures of their utterances, and the rhetorical function of the exclaimed proposition. This made possible a comparison of the exclaimed themes both within and across each genre and across each of the five editions analyzed. While the 1830 edition was found to have many exclamations in the genres of conversation and speech with emphasis on the themes of the love of God, the sacrifice of Christ, and the carnal nature of man, the 1920 edition by contrast saw emphasis mainly in the genres of prayer and aside on the call to repentance, the calamities of hell, and the need to call upon God’s grace to overcome the many sins that will beset the latter generation of readers.” [Author]
I hope seeing an exclamation point will prompt you to look for ways to celebrate the good things that happen in your life and in the lives of others around you.
Access this article at BYU ScholarsArchive.
Review of Boyd Petersen’s Hugh Nibley: A Consecrated Life.
Reprinted in Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 13.
Originally presented as a keynote address given on 11 April 1991 at the Associated Students Awards Assembly at Brigham Young University.
Just as reading and learning about muscles is not enough to build muscle, reading and learning about faith without adding action is insufficient to build faith.
An alphabetical listing of nearly every word occurring in the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price with context entries. Words found in the title page and the thirty original chapter headings of the Book of Mormon are also included.
Discourse by Apostle Orson Pratt, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 26, 1879. Reported By: John Irvine.
Remarks by President J. M. Grant, Delivered in the 17th Ward Schoolhouse, Great Salt Lake City, October 2, 1856. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
An Address by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 18, 1852. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Remarks by Elder Ezra T. Benson, at the General Conference, Great Salt Lake City, Oct. 9, 1865. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
From the birth of modern science at the end of the sixteenth century, Galileo famously believed that God had written two books — the scriptures and the Book of Nature. The scriptures, he contended, should be interpreted by scholars and theologians, whereas the Book of Nature was the province of scientists.
Old Testament Scriptures > Ezra/Nehemiah
Old Testament Topics > Israel, Scattering and Gathering
RSC Topics > T — Z > Zion
Two additional parallels to the exodus pattern include death and burial in the desert and the transfiguration of Nephi and Moses.
Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
Old Testament Topics > Types and Symbols
Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
Old Testament Topics > Types and Symbols
Old Testament Topics > Israel, Scattering and Gathering
Old Testament Topics > Joseph and Asenath
Old Testament Topics > Moses
Old Testament Topics > Types and Symbols
Old Testament Scriptures > Leviticus
Old Testament Topics > Types and Symbols
Old Testament Topics > Types and Symbols
Reprinted in Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 12, and Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless, 2nd ed.
When dealing with apocryphal texts, scholars can discount doctrines and themes that appear once or twice. However, themes that run consistently through many or most of the texts should be seriously considered. One such theme is that of a council in heaven in which a plan was presented and the opposition toward that plan. This article details the presence of these themes in ancient texts among various cultures.
“The Expanding Gospel” (1992)
“The Expanding Gospel” (2004)
Originally printed in BYU Studies (1965) and Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless, 2nd ed.
When dealing with apocryphal texts, scholars can discount doctrines and themes that appear once or twice. However, themes that run consistently through many or most of the texts should be seriously considered. One such theme is that of a council in heaven in which a plan was presented and the opposition toward that plan. This article details the presence of these themes in ancient texts among various cultures.
“The Expanding Gospel” (1965)
“The Expanding Gospel” (2004)
Originally printed in BYU Studies (1965). Reprinted in Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 12.
Moses takes us back to the beginning, but which beginning? Nothing in the restored gospel is more stimulating to the inquiring mind than the infinitely expanded panorama of time and space it spreads before us. Our existence is viewed not as a one-act play, beginning with instantaneous creation of everything out of nothing and ending with its dissolution into the immaterial nothing from which it came (as St. Jerome puts it), but as a series of episodes of which, for the present, we are allowed to view only a few. The play has always been going on and always will be: the man Adam played other roles and was known by different names before he came here, and after his departure from mortal life, he assumes other offices and titles. Even in this life, everyone changes from one form to another, gets new names and callings and new identities as he or she plays his or her proverbial seven parts, always preserving identity as the same conscious living being. The common religion of the human race centers around that theme: the individual and the society pass from one stage of life to another not by a gradual and imperceptible evolution but by a series of abrupt transformations, dramatized the world over in rites of passage, of which birth and death are the prime examples, coming not unannounced but suddenly and irresistibly when the time is ripe. Other passages, as into puberty and marriage, follow the same pattern. In such a perspective of eternity, the stock questions of controversy between science and religion become meaningless. When did it all begin; can you set a date? Were there ever humanlike creatures who did not belong to the human race? (There still are!) How old is the earth? the universe? How long are they going to last? What will we do in heaven forever? And so on. Nothing is settled yet, not only because the last precincts are never heard from in science and their report always comes as a shocker but because we are far from getting the last word in religion either. For us the story remains open-ended, at both ends, in a progression of beginnings and endings without beginning or end, each episode proceeding from what goes before and leading to the next. The Absolutes of the University of Alexandria, of which the doctors of the Christians and the Jews were completely in the thrall from the fourth century on, simply do not exist for Latter-day Saints. Instead of that, they have a much bigger book to study; it is time they were getting with it.
“The Expanding Gospel” (1965)
“The Expanding Gospel” (1992)
RSC Topics > D — F > Faith
RSC Topics > G — K > Joseph Smith
Review of Samuel Morris Brown, Joseph Smith’s Translation: The Words and Worlds of Early Mormonism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020). 314 pages. $34.95 (hardback).
Abstract: Samuel M. Brown opens up a new and expansive view of Joseph Smith as a religious thinker. Written for an academic audience, Brown is intentionally dealing with what can be seen and understood about Joseph Smith’s various translations, a term that Brown uses not only for texts, but for concepts of bringing the world of the divine into contact with the human domain. This is a history of the interaction of a person and the world of his thought, from the first text (the Book of Mormon) to the last, which Brown considers to be the temple rites.
Discourse by Elder Charles C. Rich, delivered at a Conference Held in Paris, Idaho, Nov. 11, 1877. Reported By: James H. Hart.
This article describes an archaeological expedition in January and February, 1948, to the Xicalongo Gulf Coast area of a district of western Campeche. The author provides descriptions of the area’s flora and fauna, the hardships of the expedition, and findings of relatively new early “pre-classic” civilizations.
Addressing our dysfunctional receptors for God’s love restores power, stability, and direction in our lives.
Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday, August 11, 1867. Reported By: David W. Evans.
As I interface the sacred and the secular, I am struck by how little my experience of this love is explainable in conventional psychological terms, or, indeed, in any secular terms.
A typescript wherein Richards recalls visiting with Oliver Cowdery. Cowdery recalls the manner in which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon from the gold plates.
I have given you a sampling of significant occasions that have forever touched my life. They have influenced my thinking and my behavior. They have affected my life in an unforgettable manner. You likewise will have significant experiences.
Abstract: Historical chronicles of military conflict normally focus on the decisions and perspectives of leaders. But new methodologies, pioneered by John Keegan’s Face of Battle, have focused attention on the battle experience of the common soldier. Applying this methodology to a careful reading of details within the Book of Mormon shows an experience in battle that is just as horrific as it is authentic.
Abstract: A favorite scripture of many faithful saints is Alma 7 where it describes how the Savior came to Earth to understand, in the flesh, not only human sin, but human suffering. He did this in order to succor and heal us. Despite its obvious appeal, two points may seem curious to some readers. First, the doctrinal power of verses 11–13, which form a chiasm, has as its apex not the “mercy in succoring us,” as might be expected, but the “in the flesh” detail. Why? Upon closer examination, it appears that, in addition to performing the Atonement, Christ needed a mortal experience in order to add a complete experiential knowledge to his omniscient cognitive knowledge. That could only be obtained, in its fulness, “according to the flesh,” hence the emphasis in the chiasm. A second possible curiosity is that Alma ends his beautiful teaching with his brief testimony, which lends an air of closure. Then, the topic appears to change completely and seemingly inexplicably to a discussion of repentance and baptism. Again, why? Closer examination reveals that the next two verses (14–15) form a second chiasm. If the first chiasm can be viewed as a statement of what Christ offers us, the second may be viewed as what we offer Christ. He runs to us in 7:11–13; we run to him in 7:14–15. When viewed together, the two chiasms form a two-way covenantal relationship, which Alma promises will result in our eternal salvation.
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Alma
Book of Mormon Scriptures > Ether
If we are not afraid, our life experiments can be tools to learn truth and to make changes. The pioneer chemist Marie Curie believed that “nothing in life is to be feared—it is only to be understood.”
This book is based on a novel idea: that Mormons do theology. “Doing theology” is different from weighing history, deciding doctrine, or inspiring devotion, though it sometimes overlaps with those things. Theology speculates. It experiments with questions, tests new angles, and pulls loose threads. It reads familiar texts in careful and creative new ways. In this collection of essays, six scholars theologically examine Alma chapter 32 in the Book of Mormon, which contains some of the most insightful verses about faith in the entire Latter-day Saint canon. Not only do these scholars shed new light on Alma 32, they also provide exemplary models for improved scripture study more generally.
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.
The claim by three researchers that Soloman Spaulding wrote part of the Book of Mormon was refuted by a handwriting expert.
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.
This is the first and still the only book-length commentary on the Joseph Smith Papyri. In this long-awaited new edition, with expanded text and numerous illustrations, Professor Nibley shows that the papyri are not the source of the Book of Abraham. Rather than focusing on what the papyri are not, as most commentators have done, Nibley masterfully explores what the papyri are and what they meant in ancient times. He demonstrates how these ancient Egyptian papyri contain a message that is of particular interest to Latter-day Saints.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Temples > Ancient Temples
The use of the term “stick” in Ezekiel 37 does not refer to books as some have suggested, but it has reference to nations, i.e., the stick of Judah is the Jewish nation and the stick of Ephraim is the Ephraimite nation.
RSC Topics > Q — S > Restoration of the Gospel
Written in rebuttal to No Man Knows My History,
Review of Earl M. Wunderli. “Critique of a Limited Geography for Book of Mormon Events.” Dialogue 35/3 (2002): 161–97.
Explains the origin of the NWAF, accomplishments of its first season’s work in Tabasco and Chiapas (in which the authors participated), and the supposed conceptual tie to the Book of Mormon.
This three-part series presents some legends and traditions of the American Indian in association with ruins, especially of Central America. They seem to prove that the Book of Mormon is historically correct. Throughout the Americas, the Indians believed in a Messiah who came a long time ago and promised to return. The high priest of the Quiche Indians wore a breastplate with seven precious stones. It was a Urim and Thummim used to decide the innocence or guilt of those accused of crimes. It would reveal both past and future events.
Described as “the most traveled man in the Church,” Andrew Jenson had been a lifelong globetrotter since his emigration from Denmark to Utah as a young boy in 1866. Although Jenson’s lifelong interest in the whereabouts of ancient Nephite and Lamanite ruins propelled him to visit the remote areas of Latin America, he returned with a powerful impression that the Latter-day gospel should be spread south, beyond the borders of Mexico. Jenson’s letters help readers better understand some of the events and experiences that seemingly led to the twentieth-century reopening of the South American Mission in 1925 by Church leaders. This book covers this important chapter from Jenson’s life and church history, which has rarely been told in over seven decades and is heretofore virtually unknown by most Mormon historians. ISBN 978-0-8425-2851-1
Described as “the most traveled man in the Church,” Andrew Jenson was a lifelong globetrotter since his emigration as a young boy from Denmark to Utah in 1866. Jenson’s mounting interest in the whereabouts of ancient Nephite and Lamanite ruins peaked in 1923 when he and his traveling companion, Thomas P. Page, embarked on a four-month exploration to remote areas of Latin America. Jenson returned with a powerful impression that the latter-day gospel should be spread south, beyond the borders of Mexico. His letters help readers better understand events and experiences that seemingly led to the reopening of the South American Mission in 1925. This book covers this important period in both Jenson’s life and Church history, which has rarely been told and is virtually unknown by most Mormon historians.
By exploring nature’s “curiosity cabinet,” we can not only increase our sense of wonder of the earth but also discover truths that can help solve some of the world’s most serious problems.
Review of Brian D. Stubbs, Exploring the Explanatory Power of Semitic and Egyptian in Uto-Aztecan, Provo, UT: Grover Publications, 2015. 436 pp. $30.
A work designed for youth that discusses the history of the acquisition and translation of the plates, the history of the Jaredites, and Lehi’s voyage into the desert.
“From Adam-ondi-Ahman to the City of Enoch; from the restoration of the Gospel to building of the New Jerusalem in the latter-days the Heartland of America has been the setting of sacred and significant events throughout human history.
Review of Avram R. Shannon and Kerry Hull, eds., A Hundredth Part: Exploring the History and Teachings of the Book of Mormon (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2023). 374 pages, $29.99 (hardback). Abstract: This volume collects papers published in multiple venues over a wide time span. A diligent researcher might find all of them, but that difficult search has been done. The included papers represent multiple ways of approaching the Book of Mormon and therefore provide the reader with a rounded perspective on how and why a careful reading should be done.
Believers and non-believers have both assembled their separate sets of misconceptions about the Book of Mormon. So as truth emerges, everyone gets to be surprised in some ways, including the author. Previous thoughts on Book of Mormon language have been tEthered to the text. As a linguist, knowledgeable in Egyptian and Semitic languages, and as a leading authority in a relevant Native American language family, the author brings togEther evidence for an enlightening line of language history from Nephi to Now. His studies in comparative Uto-Aztecan clarify a number of Book of Mormon language matters.
This volume explores some of the seminal articles that examine Joseph Smith’s First Vision, which were written by the foremost experts who have studied it for half a century. This book preserves and shares that work. Those who study the First Vision today depend very much on the works of the scholars that are reprinted in this volume. The book includes articles by and interviews with James B. Allen, Richard L. Anderson, Milton V. Backman Jr., Richard L. Bushman, Steven C. Harper, Dean C. Jessee, Larry C. Porter, and John W. Welch. ISBN 978-0-8425-2818-4
Review of Avraham Gileadi. Isaiah Decoded: Ascending the Ladder to Heaven.
“We invite you to let the Book of Mormon change your life-- again-- as you read this second edition of Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon. In doing so, you will learn about the numerous new developments and discoveries that have come forth in the last twenty years about Mesoamerica and the Book of Mormon, such as : the correlation of Stela 31 at Tikal as it relates to the great, decisive battle at Cumorah; a comparison of the Maya name Mormon with the Nahuatl name Tehuantepec; the discovery of the name of the Jaredite King Kish, including his date and place of birth; a comparison of Mesoamerican written languages and two high civilizations with the languages and civilizations of the Nephites and the Jaredites; detailed and illustrated map studies of Mesoamerican locations with cities and lands outlined in the Book of Mormon; types-and-shadows correlational outcomes such as those found with vultures, weather, wars, geography, and weights and measures; and much, much more.” [Summary from Book]
Describes the languages, history, geography, and culture of some of the peoples described within the Book of Mormon, and presents a number of possible sites where this ancient civilization actually lived. This work is reviewed in P.037 and in P.398.
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.
Based on the foundation of a long-standing precedent of the spirit of inquiry in secular and religious education, this dissertation explored the spirit of inquiry in the Book of Mormon. The discovery was made that the spirit of inquiry consists of numerous attributes or characteristics. The list of characteristics that were discovered to be a part of the spirit of inquiry include such attributes as desire, pondering, a soft heart, asking in faith, belief, diligence, fasting, remembering, questioning, searching, understanding, and sharing. The ultimate discovery was that one cannot come to know Christ unless one walks the path of the spirit of inquiry. The Book of Mormon both models and teaches the importance of coming unto Christ through the spirit of inquiry. This study clearly describes the path of the spirit of inquiry in the hopes that all may follow it to its wonderful conclusion--knowing and understanding Christ.
This article refers to evidence about the existence of elephants in ancient New Mexico.
A Discourse by President J. M. Grant, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, March 2, 1856. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Author refutes the Spaulding theory and offers evidence as to the Book of Mormon’s divine origin.
An exposé of Mormonism written by a former Mormon. The author complains that he had never heard of the Book of Mormon until after his baptism. The Book of Mormon cannot be believed since the Three Witnesses left the Church, it mentions things that would occur in the New Testament hundreds of years before they happened, and it contradicts the Bible. The author alleges that there is a chronological discrepancy in the Book of Mormon when it says that Lehi left Jerusalem 600 years before the birth of Jesus. He accepts the Spaulding theory regarding its origin.
A polemical work against Mormonism. The writer favors the Spaulding Theory for the origin of the Book of Mormon, believes that the Book of Mormon plagiarizes the King James Version of the New Testament, and gives a brief discussion of the Anthon episode. Much of the work is devoted to exposing alleged errors in the Book of Mormon. Mormon interpretations of the prophecy in Isaiah 29 used to support the Book of Mormon are criticized.
An early polemical tract against Mormonism that accepts uncritically E. D. Howe’s book Mormonism Unveiled.
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.
RSC Topics > T — Z > Word of Wisdom
RSC Topics > T — Z > Zion
Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Bowery, Logan City, Saturday Afternoon, June 28, 1873. Reported By: David W. Evans.
Condemning the “Utah Mormons,” this author claims they are confusing the public by large newspaper ads about the Book of Mormon that have appeared in many metropolitan dailies. The religious beliefs of Utah Mormons are inconsistent with the teachings of the Book of Mormon, e.g., their belief in polygamy.
A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, August 15, 1852. Reported By: G. D. Watt.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 25, 1857. Reported By: G. D. Watt, J. V. Long.
Quotes contemporary historians and ancient authors whose writings confirm or support historical elements of the Book of Mormon. Among these are Lord Kingsborough who was impressed by the knowledge of Genesis possessed by the American Indians; Rosales who relates a Chilean tradition of a visitation by a wonderful personage who taught them of the creator; Prescott who tells of astonished Catholics who found the sign of the cross and a ceremony of partaking of the body and blood of deity.
A polemical work against the Book of Mormon. The author notes problems with the accounts and testimonies of Book of Mormon witnesses, whose characters he asserts were unreliable and reprobate. He discusses the 1834 Anthon denial and problems with the translation of the Book of Mormon. He also describes what he feels are numerous anachronisms and absurdities in the Book of Mormon. He favors the Spaulding explanation of Book of Mormon origins.
An RLDS teaching manual that addresses the topics of Book of Mormon authorship (including the Spaulding-Rigdon theory), language, metal plates, witnesses, animals, metals, and the problems of dating.
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.
Vindictive tract addresses the testimony of the witnesses to the Book of Mormon and the part played by Professor Anthon. Refers to the Book of Mormon as a “mutilated romance” Accepts the Spaulding explanation.
The first mark of Mormonism is deception. It was founded upon the Spaulding Manuscript, palmed off as golden plates.
A proclamation to the inhabitants of America that Jesus Christ has appeared to the forefathers of the Indians, that God inspired Columbus to discover America, and that America became a free land “to prepare the way for the coming of the Book of Mormon” A warning for the same inhabitants to repent and believe in the words of Jesus Christ as presented in the Book of Mormon.
Using extracts from the writings of Stephens, these articles suggest that the archaeological and historical observations of Stephens in Central America provide evidence that the Book of Mormon contains the truth.
An extract from the Book of Mormon concerning the dispersion and gathering of Israel (1 Nephi 22).
Ever since rumors of a Golden Bible began circulating in the late 1820s, the Book of Mormon has occupied a singular place in the American popular imagination. It has been revered as scripture by Latter-day Saints and condemned as imposture by anti-Mormons for nearly two centuries, but what of Americas more moderate majority? Especially in the earliest days of its presence in print, how was the Book of Mormon seen by ordinary Americans, and what do their perceptions reveal about their day? This study analyzes the place of the Book of Mormon in the antebellum popular imagination as revealed through the lens of humor. A surprising number of the books early observers found something unmistakably humorous about its content and story of origin, and assumed that it was a piece of imaginative fiction. In expressing their views of the Mormon scripture, often in comic ways, they revealed much about the social and religious values they espoused, the cultural incongruities with which they were grappling, and the underlying assumptions that were being shaped in part by a uniquely American humor. Sounding a natural resonance with many of Americas comic chords, the Book of Mormon quickly achieved a certain cultural currency that was recognized by both humorists and polemicists, who often exploited humors rhetorical power. In the process, the Book of Mormon became and has remained a mythic presence in the national imagination.
An in-depth review of Hugh Nibley’s book Abraham in Egypt.
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Pearl of Great Price > Book of Abraham > Characters > Abraham, Sarah, Abram, Sarai
An Eye of Faith contains nineteen thought-provoking and new essays about the following topics: ancient and modern temples, revelations to the Latter-day Saints, serving others and sharing the gospel, increasing scriptural understanding, and Church history. Jointly published by Deseret Book and Brigham Young University’s Religious Studies Center, this book was written by established Church scholars including Susan Easton Black, Richard E. Bennett, Kent P. Jackson, S. Kent Brown, Richard Draper, Alexander L. Baugh, Craig Ostler, Brent L. Top, and other notable writers. ISBN 978-0-8425-2889-4
If we pick and choose what we accept in the proclamation, we cloud our eternal view, putting too much importance on our experience here and now.
Review of “Letter to a CES Director: Why I Lost My Testimony,” Jeremy Runnells, April 2013, Updated February 23, 2014. 83 pages. http://cesletter.com/Letter-to-a-CES-Director.pdf.
Abstract: In his Letter to a CES Director, Jeremy Runnells explains how a year of obsessive investigation brought about the loss of his testimony. In an LDS FAQ, LDS blogger Jeff Lindsay deals with all of the same questions, and has done so at least twenty years and has not only an intact testimony, but boundless enthusiasm. What makes the difference? In the parable of the Sower, Jesus explained that the same seeds (words) can generate completely different harvests, ranging from nothing to a hundred-fold increase, all depending on the different soil and nurture. This essay looks at how different expectations and inquiries for translation, prophets, key scriptural passages on representative issues can lead to very different outcomes for investigators.
When we see each other as daughters and sons of our Heavenly Father, it changes us. Instead we begin to see each other as brothers and sisters with the singular purpose of striving to become ready to return to live with our Heavenly Father.
If we will look to Christ and open our eyes and our ears, the Holy Ghost will bless us to see the Lord Jesus Christ working in our lives.
A narrative of the first vision, the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, visits of Moroni and other heavenly messengers assigned to instruct Joseph during the period 1823-1827 are presented using Joseph Smith’s four written histories in conjunction with other accounts written by Lucy Smith, Orson Pratt, Oliver Cowdery, and others. Also provides observations and recollections concerning Joseph Smith during the period of the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon. This work is reviewed in P.301.
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.”
An assertion that the traditional Mormon interpretation of the prophecy in Ezekiel 37 regarding the Book of Mormon is both naive and unsupportable in light of Near Eastern scholarship.
Originally published as a lesson in An Approach to the Book of Mormon (1957).
The Latter-day Saint claim that Ezekiel’s account of the Stick of Joseph and the Stick of Judah is a clear reference to the Book of Mormon has, of course, been challenged. There is no agreement among scholars today as to what the prophet was talking about, and so no competing explanation carries very great authority. The ancient commentators certainly believed that Ezekiel was talking about books of scripture, which they also identify with a staff or rod. As scepters and rods of identification the Two Sticks refer to Judah and Israel or else to the Old Testament and the New. But in this lesson we present the obvious objections to such an argument. The only alternative is that the Stick of Joseph is something like the Book of Mormon. But did the ancient Jews know about the Lord’s people in this hemisphere? The Book of Mormon says they did not, but in so doing specifies that it was the wicked from whom that knowledge was withheld. Hence it is quite possible that it was had secretly among the righteous, and there is actually some evidence that this was so.
Old Testament Topics > Book of Mormon and the Old Testament
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Bible > Old Testament > Characters > Ezekiel
Hugh W. Nibley Topics > Book of Mormon > Criticisms and Apologetics
The author criticizes Dr. Sidney Sperry’s research on the two sticks mentioned in Ezekiel 37:15-23, represented to signify the Bible and the Book of Mormon. The author analyzes these assertions and concludes that Dr. Sperry’s arguments are seriously fiawed. [A.L. & P.H.]
A nonmember’s response to the debate in Dialogue between Dr.&bsp;Sperry and Dr. Snell on the meaning of Ephraim’s sticks
RSC Topics > A — C > Covenant
RSC Topics > G — K > Judgment
Review of A Witness and a Warning: A Modern-Day Prophet Testifies of the Book of Mormon (1988), by Ezra Taft Benson.