A teacher at the Salt Lake Institute of Religion for three decades, T. Edgar Lyon regularly drew more students than could squeeze into his classroom. Lyon’s gift as a vivid storyteller made Church history “come alive.” Dr. Lyon, eyes twinkling, would ask: “Why did Brigham Young choose oxen over horses or mules to move wagons westward?” “Better gas mileage,” Lyon beamed: “They could survive on poor grass without supplemental grain, and they ate less in comparison to the weight they pulled.” Lyon always affirmed, “The testimony is in the details.” Lyon’s rich biography, revealed through an engaging narrative, explores his mission and mission presidency in the Netherlands, University of Chicago study under renowned biblical scholars, contributions to seminary and institute programs during the Church Educational System’s formative years, and work with the Nauvoo Restoration project.

This has been a unique and wonderful place of assembly.

As this building is rededicated today, may we pledge to rededicate our lives to the work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Abstract: In this article, Michael Morales considers how the building of the Tabernacle had been pre-figured from the earliest narratives of Genesis onward. It describes some of the parallels between the creation, deluge, and Sinai narratives and the tabernacle account; examines how the high priest’s office functions as something of a new Adam; and considers how the completed tabernacle resolves the storyline of Genesis and Exodus, via the biblical theme of “to dwell in the divine Presence.”
[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 L. Michael Morales, “The Tabernacle: Mountain of God in the Cultus of Israel,” 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), 27–70. Further information at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/ancient-temple-worship/.]Introduction.

After the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City’s Temple Square was renovated in 2007, historian Scott C. Esplin released this in-depth review of the Tabernacle’s construction. Featuring beautiful and historic photos, much of the book consists of a newly edited version of Stewart Grow’s thesis on the building of the Tabernacle. Grow was the grandson of Henry Grow, the bridge builder who built the roof of the historic Tabernacle. The editor has provided a new introduction, placing the thesis in historical context. ISBN 978-0-8425-2675-3

The symbolism and purpose of Israel’s tabernacle

This table compares Nephite weights and measures with Egyptian values and gives possible equivalents in grams and ounces.

Review of Elizabeth Fenton and Jared Hickman, Americanist Approaches to The Book of Mormon (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019). 456 pages. $99 (hardback), $35 (paperback).Abstract: Americanist Approaches to The Book of Mormon is an ambitious collection of essays published by Oxford University Press. By “Americanist” the editors refer to their preferred mode of contextualization: to situate the Book of Mormon as a response to various currents of nineteenth- century American thought. The “table rules” in this case determine who gets invited to the table and what topics can be discussed, using what types of evidence. The approach is legitimate, and the contributors offer a range of interesting perspectives and observations. Several essays base their arguments on the notion that the Book of Mormon adapts itself to a series of racist tropes common in the nineteenth century. In 2015, Ethan Sproat wrote an important essay that undercuts the arguments of those authors, but none of them address his case or evidence. This raises the issue of the existence of other tables operating under different assumptions, confronting the same text, and reaching very different conclusions. How are we to judge which table’s rules produce the best readings?
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Review of “Poetic Language in Nineteenth Century Mormonism: A Study of Semiotic Phenomenology in Communication and Culture” (1990), by Michiko Takayama

Take advantage of every resource and do your best to keep your spirit, your body, and your mind strong.

This article presents archaeological evidence of the Book of Mormon. It introduces the similarities between the religion of the Incas and Christianity, and a possible connection between the ancient Sumerians and the inhabitants of Ancient America.

What an incomparable gift comes to those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. That gift is the Holy Spirit.

Taking upon yourselves your crosses and following the Savior means continuing with faith on the Lord’s path and not indulging in worldly habits.

As members of the Church, we must seek truth in all areas, be it spiritual, educational, scientific, or in the social and moral settings of society.

Description of a three-day conference where youth acted out the Book of Mormon in order to better understand and gain testimonies of it.

Description of a three-day conference where youth acted out the Book of Mormon in order to better understand and gain testimonies of it.

Abstract: In a response to my review of their Book of Abraham and Related Manuscripts volume, the series editors of the Joseph Smith Papers provided feedback and commentary on two important items. There are other, unaddressed issues this rejoinder examines.

“We should learn to tolerate those we disagree with, and to honor them, as God demonstrated in his councils. We must learn not to honor sin, but to honor people attempting to understand and apply truth.”

The first Latter-day Saint missionaries to Japan encountered formidable language, religious, and cultural barriers. After considerable efforts, Church officials closed the mission in 1924. Later, the gospel was reintroduced in mid-century, when it took root. Since that time, Mormon missionaries have baptized many believers, several missions have opened, auxiliary organizations such as the Relief Society have been instituted, and two temples have been constructed. This volume celebrates the Church’s first hundred years among the Japanese. The articles explore such issues as the Japanese presses’ portrayal of Mormonism and answer questions such as what the historical and cultural challenges are to successful missionary work in Japan; why the Book of Mormon needed to be translated three times in one century; and whether Latter-day Saint converts hail from specific areas based on the region’s religious traditions. The essays in the book let readers witness the expansion and growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints among the Japanese.

Thus, there are certain mortal moments and minutes that matter—certain hinge points in the history of each human. Some seconds are so decisive they shrink the soul, while other seconds are spent so as to stretch the soul.

May we faithfully take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ—by seeing as He sees, by serving as He served, and by trusting that His grace is sufficient.

Prior to the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BC, Lehi took his family into the wilderness. Around the same time, another group of Jews fled to Elephantine in Egypt. Ludlow evaluates the Nephite group, the Elephantine colony, and the Jews in postexilic Jerusalem to show how the Nephites compared religiously with other Jewish groups. Social relationships, the Sabbath and festivals, priesthood officials, and temples played important roles in all three communities, with the importance and function of each varying among the three. On the other hand, scriptural texts strongly aided the reformation of Jerusalem and played an important role among the Nephites, beginning with the retrieval of brass plates from Laban, but the Elephantine community lacked texts related to the Hebrew Bible. After comparing the three, Ludlow shows that the Nephites created their own religious community, separate and independent from the religious community they left behind.

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.
Expresses a modification of T. S. Eliot’s these that expands the usual connotations of the terms “talent” and “tradition,” which suggests that there is a strong sense in which talents are fully employed by individuals only when they do not regard them as their own, and that there is an equally strong sense in which tradition exists only in the form of individuals in whom it is reincarnated.

I would invite each of you to study and prepare your minds and then make a commitment to develop your talents and provide a significant contribution to the world.

What was the heritage of Jenson’s expedition to Mormondom abroad? How did his two-year fact-finding mission help shape the balance of his life and the Latter-day Saint historical enterprise? Jenson’s global tour was an unprecedented adventure in Latter-day Saint history. Through his own hard work and the seeming hand of Providence, historian Andrew Jenson found his niche as a laborer in the cause of the Restoration. He pursued the goal of collecting and writing comprehensive, accurate, and useful histories of the Church with a rare passion. Acquiring, documenting, and publishing Church history was not purely a scholarly or historical pursuit for him—the untiring Danish-American believed it was a spiritual labor with eternal ramifications. He devoted his adult life to enlarging the institutional memory of the Church and protecting what he considered to be the sacred records of the final dispensation. ISBN 978-0-8425-2820-7

A science iction story that tells of the rise of a prophet with all the characteristics of Joseph Smith.

“Vision narratives report experiences that cannot be confirmed because they cannot be shared. Those who see angels can only receive confirmation and reassurance from the way that their testimony is accepted by others. Taking the publication of the vision reports found in the Book of Mormon (1830) as an example of a visionary’s concern for validation, the paper shows how Joseph Smith, Jr. (the book’s ’author and translator’) could rely on his readers confirming – by their tacit assent to what they read – the truth of what he held to be his own revelatory experience. However, as Smith thought of the ministry of angels as a relational rather than a referential term, and brought all instances of revelation under this heading, there could be a diffference between what was described (and assented to) and what was experienced.” [Author]

The prophet Zenos outlined the history of Israel in the allegory of the olive tree in Jacob 5. Author includes a graph depicting the scattering and gathering of Israel.

Abstract: This essay follows Zacharias’ biography from entering the priesthood till the day the angel Gabriel appeared to him in Herod’s temple. After recounting the procedures to become a priest, Brown focuses on the day when Zacharias prepared to bring one of the two central standing offerings. He points out that likely, a priest would only have a once in a lifetime chance to partake in the core of this ceremony, entering the Holy Room and burning incense on the Inner Altar. Brown paints a very visual picture of this day, immersing us in the ritual of the time, a ritual that became even more significant for Zacharias by seeing an angel in the temple, something that has not happened before nor after in the Second Temple.

[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 Lisle G. Brown, “Tamid: Zacharias and the Second Temple,” 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), 241–78. Further information at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/temple-insights/.]

Review of Mormonism (1957); The Maze of Mormonism (1962); and The Kingdom of the Cults (1997), by Walter Martin

Challenges the competence of the Tanner’s views on general Book of Mormon issues.

Traces the succession of those who kept the records of the Book of Mormon until Moroni gave them to Joseph Smith.

The story of the translation of the Book of Mormon into Japanese.

Interwoven throughout the Book of Mormon are images of eating and drinking that serve as symbols and metaphors inspiring readers to flee degradation and partake of eternal life. In significant ways, the Book of Mormon employs images of eating and drinking or the absence of them to develop implications of survival, social relations, and covenants. Its metaphorical use of these images is especially rich. It calls to those who approach it, “Taste and feast.”

Compares modern-day missionaries to the stripling warriors of Helaman.

A 44-page work that features a series of questions and answers about the Book of Mormon.

Jeffrey R. Holland, then dean of Religious Instruction at Brigham Young University (BYU), established the Religious Studies Center (RSC) in 1975 with the mission of encouraging and supporting the pursuit of truth through scholarship on gospel-related topics. This collection of essays, like all RSC endeavors, is part of Religious Education’s overall mission of building the kingdom of God by teaching and preserving the sacred doctrine and history of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Religious Educator, a publication of BYU’s RSC, is a place where Church leaders and teachers publish thoughtful essays for those who study and teach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. The editors of this compilation selected some of the outstanding contributions from past issues to celebrate the Religious Educator’s tenth year of publication. This volume features outstanding articles by Elder Robert D. Hales, Elder Richard G. Scott, Elder Tad R. Callister, J. R. Kearl, Brent L. Top, Kathy Kipp Clayton, and others. ISBN 978-0-8425-2717-0

David B. Haight - We as members of this church know the meaning of life. It has been revealed in its truthfulness and purity and is available to all who seek, will listen, and believe. The mission and responsibility of this church and its members have been made abundantly clear—to proclaim the Lord’s teachings unto the entire world.

President Hunter, President Hinckley, President Monson, thank you for this opportunity to share my testimony and my feelings of joy, gratitude, and responsibility for being called to serve the Primary children of the Church. Learn more about Mormons: http://mormon.org/

Children learn through gentle direction and persuasive teaching. They search for models to imitate, knowledge to acquire, things to do, and teachers to please.

I have a testimony that assisting our Father in Heaven in teaching children to love and serve the Lord is one of the most important blessings and responsibilities He has given us. The Savior loved and taught the little children, and we are to follow His example.

Our teaching will be effective if we approach it humbly through prayer and study.

“The Lord speaks of a solemn assembly where the laborers for Zion may purify themselves so that he by his atoning power may make them clean.”

We must revitalize and reenthrone superior teaching in the Church—at home, from the pulpit, in our administrative meetings, and surely in the classroom.

Recommendations for lessons and sample questions with answers for teachers of Book of Mormon classes.

Regardless of life’s circumstances or the nature of one’s calling, all members of the Church have the opportunity to teach and to testify.

While we are all teachers, we must fully realize that it is the Holy Ghost who is the teacher and witness of all truth.