Teaching aid. Compilation of 1900 scriptural passages organized alphabetically under 300 subject headings.

Notes briefly some problems he sees with the Book of Mormon and archaeology: the horse did not exist in Mesoamerica contemporaneously with the Nephites; natives with white skin and beards migrated in the Paleo- Mesolithic period; there are no remains of the Middle-Eastern seeds the Nephites planted (1 Nephi 18:25); many aspects of Nephite culture are not evidenced by archaeology.

A polemical tract against the Book of Mormon. The writer attempts to portray the Book of Mormon as “another gospel” (Galations 1:8) that is opposed to the gospel of Christ.

The relics found in the La Brea Tar pits include deposits of prehistoric life—horses, mammoths, and other animals now extinct, proving that these animals once roamed the American continent as the Book of Mormon records.

Archaeologists consider the La Mojarra Stela, discovered in 1986, to be the most important key to understanding the spread of Mesoamerican writing and calendrical practices. Some Book of Mormon believers wonder if this is the stone of Coriantumr (Omni 1:35-40). Included are photographs of the stone.

A large engraved stone with hieroglyphics and a picture of a fully clothed man was discovered in the Acula River, southeast of Veracruz, Mexico in 1986. Many scholars believe the hieroglyphics represent an earlier version of the Maya language, probably Olmec.

Discusses the curiosities of Mormonism, including the emergence of the Book of Mormon. Claims that the book grew out of a bad novel, Spaulding’s manuscript, and was originally entitled The Golden Bible. Berates Joseph Smith for claiming to translate reformed Egyptian.

Review of New Approaches to the Book of Mormon: Explorations in Critical Methodology (1993), edited by Brent Lee Metcalfe.

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 twenty-first part covers the La Venta culture.

Espero que permitan que su mente conciba y crea que el Padre Celestial envió a Su Hijo para darnos esperanza y ayuda para encontrar una vida más abundante.

[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present the first installment from a book entitled Labor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture. It is being presented in serialized form as an aid to help readers prepare for the 2020 Come Follow Me course of study. This is a new approach for Interpreter, and we hope you find it helpful.]

[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present the fifth installment from a book entitled Labor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture. It is being presented in serialized form as an aid to help readers prepare for the 2020 Come Follow Me course of study. This is a new approach for Interpreter, and we hope you find it helpful.]

[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present the sixth installment from a book entitled Labor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture. It is being presented in serialized form as an aid to help readers prepare for the 2020 Come Follow Me course of study. This is a new approach for Interpreter, and we hope you find it helpful.]

[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present the seventh installment from a book entitled Labor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture. It is being presented in serialized form as an aid to help readers prepare for the 2020 Come Follow Me course of study. This is a new approach for Interpreter, and we hope you find it helpful.]

[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present the second installment from a book entitled Labor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture. It is being presented in serialized form as an aid to help readers prepare for the 2020 Come Follow Me course of study. This is a new approach for Interpreter, and we hope you find it helpful.]

[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present the third installment from a book entitled Labor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture. It is being presented in serialized form as an aid to help readers prepare for the 2020 Come Follow Me course of study. This is a new approach for Interpreter, and we hope you find it helpful.]

[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present the fourth installment from a book entitled Labor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture. It is being presented in serialized form as an aid to help readers prepare for the 2020 Come Follow Me course of study. This is a new approach for Interpreter, and we hope you find it helpful.]

[Editor’s Note: We are pleased to present the eighth (and final) installment from a book entitled Labor Diligently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture. It is being presented in serialized form as an aid to help readers prepare for the 2020 Come Follow Me course of study. This final installment is the Preface for the book. This is a new approach for Interpreter, and we hope you find it helpful.]

Remarks by Elder Charles C. Rich, delivered in the Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, April 8, 1867. Reported By: David W. Evans.

Please listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit telling you right now, this very moment, that you should accept the atoning gift of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered at the Semi-Annual Conference, on Sunday Afternoon, April 6, 1878. Reported By: Geo. F. Gibbs.

Reprinted as “The Lachish Letters,” in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 8. 380–406.
Suggests connections between the Lachish letters written at the time Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians and events associated with Lehi’s departure. Includes political pressures on prophets, types of proper names, and a possible identification of Mulek.

Elder Kacher teaches that our faith in Jesus Christ can unlock the powers of heaven and strengthen us as we confront life’s challenges.

Abstract: John S. Thompson explores scholarly discussions about the relationship of the Egyptian tree goddess to sacred trees in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the temple. He describes related iconography and its symbolism in the Egyptian literature in great detail. He highlights parallels with Jewish, Christian, and Latter-day Saint teachings, suggesting that, as in Egyptian culture, symbolic encounters with two trees of life — one in the courtyard and one in the temple itself — are part of Israelite temple theology and may shed light on the difference between Lehi’s vision of the path of initial contact with Tree of Life and the description of the path in 2 Nephi 31 where the promise of eternal life is made sure.
[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 S. Thompson, “The Lady at the Horizon: Egyptian Tree Goddess Iconography and Sacred Trees in Israelite Scripture and Temple Theology,” in Ancient Temple Worship: Proceedings of The Expound Symposium 14 May 2011, ed. Matthew B. Brown, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Stephen D. Ricks, and John S. Thompson (Orem, UT: The Interpreter Foundation; Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2014), 217–42. Further information at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/ancient-temple-worship/.].

We can easily see Laman and Lemuel as being lost from the start. Almost like stock characters in a novel, they may appear to have little depth or complexity. This simplistic view makes it hard to identify the reasons behind, as well as the consequences of, Laman and Lemuel’s behavior. Consequently, if we do not look for deeper meaning in Laman and Lemuel’s story, we may fail to identify the necessary precepts to avoid the pitfalls they fell into and to which we are vulnerable today. Through a more contextual view of Laman and Lemuel’s lives, we are provided with a set of precepts to help us thrive spiritually in our day. As President Spencer W. Kimball taught, to be “forewarned is [to be] forearmed.” Ultimately, Laman and Lemuel’s lack of faith in and incorrect understanding of God led to their failure to become the righteous sons of God they were intended to be.

Citing early Spanish writers and historians, the author demonstrates that the name “Laman” existed among the Indians at least as early as the time of Columbus’ discovery of America. The first part introduces the author’s argument.

Citing early Spanish writers and historians, the author demonstrates that the name “Laman” existed among the Indians at least as early as the time of Columbus’ discovery of America. The second part concludes the series.

Poetry. No abstract available

This work contains statements by prophets from Joseph Smith to Spencer W. Kimball concerning the Lamanites. Topics treated include: “Nephites Found in New Mexico,” “Lamanites a Shield to Us,” “Blessings Promised to Lamanites,” and “Zelph—White Lamanite”

“This essay outlines two insights into the geography and history of human genes and their implications for Mormon thought. If the embrace of DNA research has an impact on Mormon views, it will likely propel new approaches to scripture and history already underway in intellectual circles. First, genalogical data inscribed in genes suggest to current researchers that humans and chimpanzees share a common ancestor that lived in Africa between 5 and 7 million years ago. This adds to an abundance of archaeological and other data pointing to the same conclusion and adds to the challenges one encounters in trying to uphold scriptural literalism. Second, new genetic clues are being discovered that confirm scientific views about ancient migration patterns. Ancestors of Native Americans seem to have separated from their Asian neighbors about 40,000-50,000 years ago and from each other in what may have been three or more separate waves of migration 7,000-15,000 years ago. No link between American Indians and ancient Israelites is evident in the data.” [From author’s introduction]

A synopsis of a lecture given by Patrick Miguel, chief of the Yuma California Tribe, who discusses Indian traditions concerning the cross of Jesus and Christ’s visit to the Indians during ancient times. Miguel also discusses the role of the Book of Mormon in his conversion to Christ.

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.
There are enough clues scattered through the Nephite record to offer a few conjectures about a Lamanite history of Lehi’s descendants.

Writes that the wild imaginations of men have blinded them to the pure and simple truth. They have imagined all sorts of theories of the Indians’ descent yet they do not believe the Book of Mormon, which tells the truth plainly. The LDS policy toward the Indians is to try to educate, elevate, and convert the Indians. He quotes from Mormon 5:19-20 that the gentiles will scatter the Lamanites after which the Lord will remember the covenant he has made with Abraham and all the house of Israel.

Discusses the prophecy that the Lamanites will become a “white and delightsome people,” and conjectures that the Three Nephites are ministering to them.

Notes that scientists recognized that the ancestors of the American Indians were highly civilized and had apparent ties to the East. The Book of Mormon is the one reliable source to explain this.

The Book of Mormon devotes a major part of its account to discussing the Lamanite nation. It is a mistaken idea that all the indigenous groups of people who were found in America following the landing of Christopher Columbus were Lamanites. A testimony is not based on the external but internal evidences of the Book of Mormon.

Notes that scientists recognized that the ancestors of the American Indians were highly civilized and had apparent ties to the East. The Book of Mormon is the one reliable source to explain this.

Notes that scientists recognized that the ancestors of the American Indians were highly civilized and had apparent ties to the East. The Book of Mormon is the one reliable source to explain this.

Discusses the prophecy that the Lamanites will become a “white and delightsome people,” and conjectures that the Three Nephites are ministering to them.

Discusses the prophecy that the Lamanites will become a “white and delightsome people,” and conjectures that the Three Nephites are ministering to them.

Discusses the prophecy that the Lamanites will become a “white and delightsome people,” and conjectures that the Three Nephites are ministering to them.

Discusses the prophecy that the Lamanites will become a “white and delightsome people,” and conjectures that the Three Nephites are ministering to them.

Discusses the prophecy that the Lamanites will become a “white and delightsome people,” and conjectures that the Three Nephites are ministering to them.

Discusses the prophecy that the Lamanites will become a “white and delightsome people,” and conjectures that the Three Nephites are ministering to them.

Discusses the prophecy that the Lamanites will become a “white and delightsome people,” and conjectures that the Three Nephites are ministering to them.

Discusses the prophecy that the Lamanites will become a “white and delightsome people,” and conjectures that the Three Nephites are ministering to them.

Sketches out the character of the Lamanites. Also writes concerning Sariah, Lehi’s wife.

A pamphlet addressed to native American Indians, explaining that their ancestors are the people of the Book of Mormon. Ezekiel 37:16-17 and John 10:16 are quoted as support for the Book of Mormon.

This article is a testimony of the redemption of the Lamanites. Kimball gives examples of certain “Lamanites” who are progressing in the Church.

The Lamanites in the Book of Mormon are descendants of the Nephite, Mulekite, and Lamanite peoples. They were a scourge to the Nephites to keep them faithful to the Lord. They survived because they observed the Lord’s commandments regarding marriage. When the elder Mosiah and his followers left, the remaining body of Nephites were probably either destroyed or became Lamanites. Once the Lamanites understood the Lord’s word, they were very faithful and renounced their previous living style. Out of this milieu came Samuel, the Lamanite prophet.

The promises of the Book of Mormon found in Alma and 2 Nephi are being fulfilled and the Lamanites are bearing witness of its truthfulness.

The Lamanites are the descendants of both Judah and Manasseh and possibly “the seed of Zedekiah” Gentile may apply to all non-Jewish nations of the world or to the separated house of Israel.

Discusses the origin and history of the American Indians (Lamanites), mistreatment of Indians, God’s directing hand in their affairs, and the latter-day responsibility of the Church to take the gospel to them.

This article discusses how the Book of Mormon prophesies much concerning the Lamanites. It is the responsibility of the Church to help them to fulfill their great destiny. It states that many are receiving the gospel and are bearing fervent testimonies and living the gospel. The author includes a letter from a father to his son in which he counsels the son to look for the “Mormons,” who have the record of his people, and the son then writes of his search for this book that would teach him the true gospel, which he found in the Book of Mormon.

Review of Using the Book of Mormon to Combat Falsehoods in Organic Evolution (1992), by Clark A. Peterson

Nephi uses the word lamb 59 times. The term is found just a few other times in the Book of Mormon. John the Revelator uses lamb much more than other New Testament writers. Perhaps the frequent use of lamb by John and Nephi was due to their being shown the same vision.

Our challenge is to avoid bondage of any kind, help the Lord gather His elect, and sacrifice for the rising generation.

Before his conversion Lamoni was a severe, harsh ruler, but after his conversion he was a peaceful, wise ruler and counselor.

Review of ?Joseph Smith and Kabbalah: The Occult Connection? (1994), by Lance S. Owens

The Book of Mormon presents a tale of the plight and flight of a family from biblical Jerusalem, stitched together through a variety of narrators. As the title page claims, this book contains the record of the Nephite people, descendants of Lehi, who was commanded by God to leave Jerusalem in order to save his family from destruction. From that command, the text becomes one of movement and escape, so that the Nephite race can avoid destruction. As this story is one about avoiding annihilation, it necessarily becomes one of reproduction: How do the Nephites reproduce the people of God to spread the word of God?

Discusses Columbus’s discovery of America, the origin of the American Indians as taught by the Book of Mormon, and the fulfillment of prophetic statements concerning America.

This article claims that certain geographical references in the Book of Mormon describe the land and lakes in central and northern New York.

The Book of Mormon taught that America is a land of promise and the hope of the world. All other lands stretch out their hands for the material, political, and spiritual wealth that America offers.

A collection of photographs by James Christensen and Book of Mormon scriptures suggest possible Book of Mormon sites to help readers visualize the scriptures more fully

A collection of photographs by James Christensen and Book of Mormon scriptures suggest possible Book of Mormon sites to help readers visualize the scriptures more fully.

The period 1960–65 was key to the evolution of the Church because it represented a significant adjustment in approach and direction, particularly from Church headquarters in Salt Lake City. This history focuses on the personalities and programs of the mission presidents and their wives with particular emphasis on Elder A. Theodore Tuttle because the changes that occurred during this period were the product of these men and women. Though the nucleus of the book is Elder Tuttle’s activities, it is not a biography of him but an examination of the history of the Church in South America during these five years. Each mission in South America is discussed in relation to Elder Tuttle’s efforts and some of the issues and concerns of the time. ISBN 978-0-8425-2713-2

Relates Moroni’s teaching that the promised land is for the righteous, and that the wicked would be swept off the same land.

A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”

Claims that the Book of Mormon lands were located near the Hill Cumorah in New York and the Great Lakes. This work is reviewed in P.038.

Identifies an area in Bogata, Columbia as the Land of Zarahemla. Presents photographs and a description of the geography, climate, and vegetation of the area, drawing parallels with passages of the Book of Mormon text.

A fictional narrative based upon the Book of Mormon. The author uses the events and names as recorded in the Bible and the Book of Mormon as she puts the narrative in story form quoting extensively from the actual text as the characters speak.

Finds that there is “ample proof in the Book of Mormon to identify the location” of the choice land. Both the Nephites and the Jaredites lived in the area of the United States of America.

Provides hypothetical maps and tries to establish Book of Mormon geographical connections.

A 26-page non-dogmatic pamphlet on Book of Mormon geography. Guesses where locations are in relation to the American continent.

A PRODUCTION USING 35 MM SLIDES WITH A CASSETTE SOUNDTRACK (ALSO AVAILABLE ON VHS OR BETA VIDEO CASSETTE) TO PORTRAY THE LANDS AND PLACES ASSOCIATED WITH THE BOOK OF MORMON AS FAR AS THEY CAN BE REASONABLY IDENTIFIED AT THIS TIME.

A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.

A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.

A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.

A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.

A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.

A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.

A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.

A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.

A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.

A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.

A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.

A series of essays on Book of Mormon geography. To the earlier Nephites “the whole of North America was known as the land of Mulek, and South America as the land of Lehi.” From the period of Mosiah until Christ South America was “divided into two grand divisions”: Zarahemla and the land of Nephi.

A literary analysis of the Book of Mormon. The author compares its language and style with the Bible attempting to determine what influence the Bible may have had on the Book of Mormon.

In my experience, for an activity to build character it must be inherently good, it must require concerted effort, and it must demand perseverance over an extended period of time. Language study meets all three of these ­character-building prerequisites.

Every child needs regular reports affirming, “You are known. You are valued. You have potential. You are good.”

A combination Hebrew/Egyptian text was found at Arad, which may contain language similar to the “reformed Egyptian” in which the original Book of Mormon was written.

Discusses Nephi’s knowledge of Egyptian and Hebrew and how the Book of Mormon plates were only written upon by a distinct class of educated people. The Jaredites “presumably [spoke] the language of Adam,” but Moroni translated their record into reformed Egyptian using the Urim and Thummim. Argues that the brass plates were also written in Egyptian since it took less space than Hebrew, and Moses knew both languages.

Reprinted from “A ‘Sealed’ Book” Saints’ Herald

This article states that English, the language of translation employed by Joseph Smith, retains the original thought, personal writing styles, distinctive patterns, and unique phraseology belonging to each of the ancient writers and prophets of the Book of Mormon. Barker also discusses the language of the gold plates, which has been described as being a combination of the “learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians” (1 Nephi 12), and as “reformed Egyptian” (Mormon 9:32). Too little is known about the characters of reformed Egyptian, which had been “altered” by the Nephites (Mormon 9:32).

Powerful teaching is extremely important to preserve the gospel in our families, and it requires diligence and effort.

Compares two views concerning the language of the Nephites: (1) people wrote and spoke Egyptian; or (2) they wrote Hebrew words in Egyptian characters. Sees Hebrew roots in the following Book of Mormon words: Ziff, Rameumpton, Sheum, Gazelem, and Rabbanah.

Compares two views concerning the language of the Nephites: (1) people wrote and spoke Egyptian; or (2) they wrote Hebrew words in Egyptian characters. Sees Hebrew roots in the following Book of Mormon words: Ziff, Rameumpton, Sheum, Gazelem, and Rabbanah.

During the thirty years Royal Skousen has been working on the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project, he has discovered certain words and phrases that appear on the surface to be either ungrammatical or stylistically unusual. Some critics have claimed that these phrases are Joseph Smith’s dialect mixed with a crude imitation of the language of the King James Bible. But many of these phrases can be tied to Early Modern English, in use from 1530 to 1730. Skousen also identifies phrases from the King James Bible that are skillfully woven into the Book of Mormon text in unexpected ways as well as numerous issues that Protestants argued over during the 1500s and 1600s, such as infant baptism. Although the Book of Mormon contains elements from Early Modern English, it is not an Early Modern English text. It is unique. This article summarizes examples and discussion found in parts three and four of volume three of the Critical Text publications, titled The Nature of the Original Language (NOL).

A listing of numerous scrolls, inscriptions, and tablets purportedly found on the American continent with Hebrew or Egyptian characters upon them, and a comparison between American Indian languages and Hebrew with similarities noted. All these are proposed as evidence of the Hebrew ancestry of American Indians and the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon record.

Abstract: This study provides students of the Book of Mormon with the first comprehensive analysis of the many ways in which the word “spirit” is used in that volume of scripture. It demonstrates how the titles “Holy Ghost,” “Spirit of God,” “Spirit of the Lord,” “Holy Spirit,” and “the Spirit” are used interchangeably to refer to the third member of the Godhead. It also shows that the Holy Ghost was understood to be a separate being. The analysis is thoroughly integrated with scholarly studies of references to the spirit (rûah) in the Hebrew Bible. The functions of the Holy Ghost are also identified and explained.

This article is an analysis of the language of “white Indians” found by an American explorer in the mountains of Darien, in Panama. It reveals a vast number of words related to old world words in both form and meaning and claims some Hebrew words are found in this Indian language.

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.
This essay goes into the meanings of character, humour, and persona and how Shakespeare uses them in his plays to create different stories.

A Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 22, 1854. Reported By: G. D. Watt.

Review of Ronald V. Huggins, Lighthouse: Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Despised and Beloved Critics of Mormonism (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2022). 392 pages. $39.95 (hardback), $24.95 (paperback). Abstract: Jerald and Sandra Tanner have had a long ministerial career trying to convince people that the truth claims of the Church are wrong. Even though their ministry has closed its doors, Sandra Tanner still gives interviews recounting their adventures in fighting the good fight. This image is burnished by a biography of the Tanners and their ministry written by Ronald V. Huggins. In this review I examine the way in which Huggins approaches his subjects in his book.

The article references a large mound located at Moundville, West Virginia, which is believed to have existed for some three thousand years. Three human skeletons were discovered within the mound’s two vaults. A stone located at the mound and now held at the Smithsonian Institute contains an inscription that has never been deciphered. These things are considered to be archaeological evidences of the Book of Mormon.

In this short series of communications, Hugh Nibley expresses his philosophy that “the function of the poet is to hold one’s head while he pukes.”

Reprinted in CWHN 8:498-532. The Book of Mormon’s message of Christ specifically is to “show” and “convince” by a bulwark of historical evidence through which the doctrine must be considered. The ascension motif—righteous man rising above the wicked world by supplicating God—is repeated over and over. It is symbolic and warns mankind to spiritually break away from his real enemy, himself, in the world of sin.

Reprinted in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 8, 498–532.
The Book of Mormon’s message of Christ specifically is to “show”—and “convince”—by a bulwark of historical evidence through which the doctrine must be considered. The ascension motif—“righteous man rising above the wicked world by supplicating God”—is repeated over and over. It is symbolic and warns mankind to spiritually break away from his real enemy, himself, in the world of sin.

Originally published in Sunstone (1988).
The Book of Mormon’s message of Christ specifically is to “show”—and “convince”—by a bulwark of historical evidence through which the doctrine must be considered. The ascension motif—“righteous man rising above the wicked world by supplicating God”—is repeated over and over. It is symbolic and warns mankind to spiritually break away from his real enemy, himself, in the world of sin.

Reprinted in Eloquent Witness: Nibley on Himself, Others, and the Temple, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 17, 196–227.
Hugh Nibley discusses the last days based on his own thoughts and actively avoiding quotes from others (unless they pop up from memory).

Originally published in The Disciple as Scholar: Essays on Scripture and the Ancient World in Honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson.
Hugh Nibley discusses the last days based on his own thoughts and actively avoiding quotes from others (unless they pop up from memory).

Discourse by Apostle Erastus Snow, delivered at the General Conference, Salt Lake City, Friday Afternoon, April 7, 1882. Reported By: Geo. F. Gibbs.

The offering of the gospel first to the Jews then to the Gentiles in ancient days and its latter-day offering first to the Gentiles and then to the Jews

Bancroft (Native Races, vol. 1, 628) describes the warfare found among the Mexican people when the Spaniards arrived in the New World. The description is similar to descriptions found in the Book of Mormon concerning the final battle between the Nephites and the Lamanites. [J.W.M.] ”

This interview conducted by Emma Smith’s son in part concerns the Book of Mormon, its translation and publication. The question and answer format of the article declares that the prophet Joseph had not met Sidney Rigdon until after the publication of the book. Emma assisted in the translation, handled the cloth-wrapped plates, and verifies the book’s divine authenticity.

A brief note describing the lives and contributions of the final three Nephite kings, Mosiah, Benjamin and Mosiah II.

A poem describing David Whitmer’s witness and testimony of the Book of Mormon. It was approved by David Whitmer as a factual account of his experiences.

Reprints obituaries on David Whitmer from Missouri newspapers. Stresses his tenacious testimony as one of the Three Witnesses. States some details of his vision, including the handling of the Urim and Thummim and sword of Laban.

Warfare is a constant theme in the Book of Mormon. Conflicts with varying motivations erupted between the Nephites and Lamanites from the beginning of their sojourn in the New World. Ultimately, the Nephites as a sociopolitical group were exterminated in one climactic battle when hundreds of thousands died in a single day. Have Mesoamerican archaeologists detected an intensity and scale of warfare great enough to account for the extermination of a people like the Nephites? Yes, there is now good reason to believe that the period when the Nephites were being destroyed by their enemies was characterized in southern Mexico and Guatemala by widespread disruption rather than an orderly evolution in the Classic era that once was the standard claim of archaeologists. The process of the complete destruction of the Nephites and their culture agrees with a recurrent pattern in Mesoamerican history.

President Lund describes the spiritual strength that comes from FSY conferences and teaches how youth can maintain that strength. We can find spiritual confidence and peace as we nurture holy habits and righteous routines that can sustain and fuel the fires of our faith.

Recently, the Exmormon Foundation held their annual conference in Salt Lake City. A presentation by Chris and Duane Johnson proposed a new statistical model for discussing authorship of the Book of Mormon. The study attempts to connect the Book of Mormon to a text published in 1816: The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain. The latter is a history of the war of 1812 deliberately written in a scriptural style. A traditional (non-statistical) comparison between this text and the Book of Mormon was apparently introduced by Rick Grunder in his 2008 bibliography Mormon Parallels. I will discuss only the statistical model presented by the Johnsons here.

FARMS is pleased to announce the release of a new volume of previously unpublished class lectures by celebrated Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley, who recently passed away at age 94. Apostles and Bishops in Early Christianity, volume 15 in the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley series, comprises Nibley’s finely detailed lecture notes for a course he taught at Brigham Young University in 1954 on the office of bishop in the early Christian church.

The latest incarnation of the FARMS Review (vol. 20, no. 2, 2008) sizes up recent books dealing with evolutionary science, plural marriage, Book of Mormon geography, and even the lost ark of the covenant. It also reviews the latest volume in the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley and introduces a new feature called the Neal A. Maxwell Institute Lecture, which this time features two talks by General Authorities who were guest speakers at the Maxwell Institute’s annual lectures in 2007 and 2008.

A trio of essays in the current issue of the Review (vol. 22, no. 1) concerns John W. Welch’s The Sermon on the Mount in the Light of the Temple, which makes a highly original and important contribution to biblical studies by revealing the “temple register” and organic unity of Jesus’s famous sermon. George L. Mitton’s introductory remarks call attention to two scholarly reviews of Welch’s study that find his thesis intriguing and plausible. A substantial excerpt from Welch’s preface to his book follows, as does a review by Gaye Strathearn that offers a helpful summary of Welch’s approach and argument and of the book’s importance for Latter-day Saints.

These are the best of times for Book of Mormon studies. Since 2001, FARMS (now part of the Maxwell Institute) has been publishing the long-anticipated findings of Professor Royal Skousen’s Book of Mormon Critical Text Project. Each massive volume in this landmark study, appearing on a yearly basis, averages nearly 670 oversize pages of research and analysis that reward careful examination with expanded views of the founding text of Mormonism.

The latest issue of the FARMS Review (vol. 21, no. 2) opens with an editor’s introduction by Lou Midgley that probes a dilemma facing evangelicals: much of their belief system is traceable to Augustine’s efforts to infuse Christianity with concepts drawn from classical (pagan) philosophy. Midgley discusses how this alien admixture does not square with the evangelical belief in biblical sufficiency, or “Bible alone.” He also calls attention to how the noted evangelical scholar N. T. Wright has recently put evangelicals on the defensive by challenging the entrenched but (in Wright’s view) misguided notion of “justification by faith alone.”

Argues against Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, stating that the witnesses of the Book of Mormon plates did not testify that the plates contain truth, just that they saw them.

A critical tractate that focuses primarily upon the testimonies of the Three and Eight Witnesses who saw the golden plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. The witnesses are accused of being spiritualists and having dreams and visions manufactured by the devil. Hallucinations and simply being fooled by Joseph Smith are other reasons given.

A parallel English-Arabic text of the Islamic philosophical work Iksir al-Arifin, or Elixir of the Gnostics, is the latest publication in the Islamic Translation Series, part of the Institute’s Middle Eastern Texts Initiative. The author, Sadr al-Din Muhammad Shirazi, better known as Mulla Íadrā (A.D. 1572–1640), is considered one of the greatest Islamic philosophers of the last 600 years and in recent years has become one of the most well known. Adept at finding flaws in the work of previous great thinkers, he was at the same time able to think independently of them, creating his own philosophical approach that he called “transcendent philosophy.” This approach combined reason, intellectual intuition, illumination, and revelation to arrive at truth.

A new publication from the Institute highlights the biblical research of a prominent British scholar. Kevin Christensen’s “Paradigms Regained: A Survey of Margaret Barker’s Scholarship and Its Significance for Mormon Studies,” the second issue of the FARMS Occasional Papers, compares the works of Margaret Barker with the writings of many Latter-day Saint researchers, including Hugh W. Nibley, Daniel C. Peterson, and John W. Welch.

In “Who Controls the Water? Yahweh vs. Baal,” the lead article in Occasional Papers 4, Fred E. Woods presents a fascinating discussion of the polemical usage of water and storm language in the Deuteronomic History (the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings). As Woods notes, the most active deity at the Canaanite city of Ugarit (located in present-day Syria near the Mediterranean coast) is Baal, the god of water and storm. The strong denunciation of Baal in the Old Testament indicates that the Baal cult had deeply penetrated Israelite culture. And while scholars have long been aware of the explicit warnings against worshipping Baal, the metaphorical arguments against Baal have gone virtually unnoticed.

The FARMS Review of Books has a long tradition of providing its readers with insightful and substantive reviews of books on the Book of Mormon, Mormon studies, and Christian studies, as well as those books that attack the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The latest issue does not disappoint. It contains reviews and responses to 18 books or articles on diverse topics, such as ancient Nephite culture, the conversion of Alma, hidden ancient records, the temple, the LDS concept of the nature of God, and the ark of the covenant.

The latest issue of the FARMS Review (volume 22, number 2), which appeared at the end of 2010, features a transcript of last year’s Neal A. Maxwell Lecture given by Mark H. Willes, president and CEO of Deseret Management Corporation. Willes illustrates the kind of creative thinking required for the LDS Church’s media outlets to eventually reach hundreds of millions of people worldwide. For a full report of this lecture, see Insights 30/2 (2010).

The failure of those who reject the historicity of the Book of Mormon to respond cogently to the increasing body of evidence and argument supporting historicity is becoming painfully apparent. Stephen E. Thompson’s recent review of Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 6/1 (1994) is one of the most recent examples of this "straw man" approach.

Sets forth the beliefs of the RLDS church, including belief in the Book of Mormon. It is not an evil book, but a book to bring Jews and Gentiles to Christ. The Book of Mormon condemns polygamy.

With the rapid and visible growth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it was inevitable that doctrinal differences would arise between the Latter-day Saints and people of other faiths. Members of the LDS Church profess to be Christians, yet others doubt or do not understand this claim.
The contributors to Latter-day Christianity hope that the 10 essays contained in this full-color, illustrated book will help Latter-day Saints who want to explain their beliefs and will be useful to people outside the LDS Church who want a simple and clear statement of those beliefs. The essays address such topics as whether Latter-day Saints are Christian and what they believe about God, the Bible, personal revelation, human deification, salvation, and proselytization.