Digital Commons Network^™

Journal Devoted To Questions Of Ancient Transoceanic Contacts

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Academia has often ignored controversial evidence of early cultural contact between the Old and New Worlds. Pre-Columbiana: A Journal of Long-Distance Contacts brings attention to rigorous scholarship supporting diffusionist claims while meeting the demands of scholarly and scientific objectivity. Developed by Stephen C. Jett, a geography professor at the University of California, Davis, the interdisciplinary journal offers studies that have been reviewed by a panel of scholars that includes John L. Sorenson, a BYU emeritus professor of anthropology and FARMS associate who has published widely on the subject.

Byu Devotional Transcript On Ancient Records

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Newly available from FARMS are transcripts of Daniel C. Peterson's BYU devotional address given on 3 August 1999. Peterson's remarks focused on BYU's role in the research and publication of ancient documents. "There is divine purpose in the things that I will treat today," Peterson began. "I believe that there is more going on here than our own merely human efforts can fully explain."

Latest Occasional Papers Highlights Biblical Scholar

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

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.

Brown Bag Report

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

With fall semester under way at Brigham Young University, we look forward to keeping you abreast of another round of Institute-sponsored brown bag lectures. These presentations, which are not open to the general public, enable researchers to share their expertise and findings with their peers in related fields and to receive constructive input. Following are reports of three such presentations from earlier this year.

Byu, Institute Continue Presence At Scholarly Conference

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Several BYU and Institute scholars attended the joint annual meetings of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature held in Toronto, Ontario, last November. In recent years this scholarly venue has enabled BYU entities specializing in religious scholarship to join ranks in the interest of promoting their recent publications while cultivating professional contacts, staying abreast of developments in the field, and presenting their research findings at conference sessions.

Herculaneum Papyri Project Catalyzes New Oxford Society

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Brigham Young University’s Herculaneum papyri project continues to gain support among American and European scholars. The project’s director, Roger T. Macfarlane, an associate professor of classics at BYU, was invited to serve on the organizing board of the nascent Herculaneum Society, which was inaugurated in Oxford, England, on 3 July 2004. The society promotes inter-national attention on scholarship and fund-raising related to the ancient town of Herculaneum and its Villa of the Papyri. Together with David Arm-strong, a classics professor at the University of Texas at Austin, Macfarlane will direct the North American division of the Herculaneum Society. “There is …

Hugh Nibley And The Book Of Mormon, John W. Welch

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

At first light on 6 June 1944, the first of many Allied landing craft began hitting the beaches of Normandy. At Utah Beach, 12 men dangling from one of the emerging jeeps cheered their driver on as they surged up from beneath the surface of the chilly English Channel waters. That driver, an army intelligence officer with a PhD in ancient history from the University of California at Berkeley, was none other than Hugh W. Nibley, age 34.

New Web Site Debuts

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship unveiled its new Web site on 1 Nov-ember 2006. The new site, found at maxwellinsti-tute.byu.edu, features all the material that resided on the FARMS Web site as well as additional con-tent and links from all departments that make up the Institute.

Latest Findings In The Book Of Mormon Critical Text Project

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

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.

Farms Review Answers Critics, Sizes Up Scholarship

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

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

Journey Of Faith: The New World Screened In Hawaii

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

On November 9, 2007, the new Willes Center-sponsored DVD, Journey of Faith: The New World, was shown to a large audience in the IMAX Theater of the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie, Hawaii, adjacent to the campus of BYU–Hawaii. The screening was offered in connection with a three-day international business conference cosponsored by the University. The founder of the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies, Mark H. Willes, opened the screening by explaining how the film came about, its significance as a study aid to help all better understand the cultural and geo-graphical setting of events leading …

New Documentary To Premier At Education Week

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Journey of Faith: The New World, a new Maxwell Institute documentary, is set to premier at BYU Campus Education Week in August. The Maxwell Institute has again teamed with award-winning Latter-day Saint filmmaker Peter Johnson to produce a documentary that will explore the Book of Mormon in the New World.

Center For Book Of Mormon Studies Created

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Accompanied by Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, President Cecil O. Samuelson recently announced the formation of the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies, a research center that promises to bring national and international distinction to the study of the Book of Mormon. President Samuelson made the announcement at a luncheon attended by Mark and Laura Willes and their family.

Work Of The Maxwell Institute Highlighted In Presentations At Education Week

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Brigham Young University Campus Education Week, slated for August 17–21, 2009, will feature a series of presentations that represent the range of the work done by the Maxwell Institute.

Beginning Wednesday, August 19, at 11:10 in the Assembly Hall of the Hinckley Center, Paul Y. Hoskisson, D. Morgan Davis Jr., and Kristian S. Heal will present on the topic “The Work of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute at BYU.”

New Jst Electronic Library Offers Added Features

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Joseph Smith’s Translation of the Bible: Electronic Library brings together a wealth of information and recent scholarship on Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible. The electronic library, produced by the Religious Studies Center and the Maxwell Institute, also includes high-resolution images of every page of the original manuscripts, images and transcriptions of the earliest copies made from those manuscripts, and a collection of recently published studies based on the manuscripts. A short introductory essay precedes each manuscript. This collection also includes the entire 851-page book Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts, edited by Scott H. Faulring, Kent …

Jbs Contributes To The Bjorling Scholarships At Gustavus Adolphus College, Mickey Dove

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

JBS-USA is please to inform you that in October a contribution in the amount of $1000 was made by the Society to the Jussi Bjorling Scholarship Endowment Fund of Gustavus Adolphus College, Saint Peter, Minnesota. This gift was made possible by the many generous contributions of our members in the last year's special end-of-year JBS fund drive.

My Vocation As A Scholar: An Idea Of The University, John R. Rosenberg

BYU Studies Quarterly

This lecture was given on March 21, 2013, as part of the Brigham Young University Faculty Center's "My Journey as a Scholar of Faith" series. John R. Rosenberg, dean of the College of Humanities at BYU, uses architectural features of the Joseph F. Smith Building (JFSB), home of his college, to illustrate certain aspects of scholarship and faith. The arches surrounding the courtyard represent a beautiful, efficient management of tension and compression and remind us that a university is a collection of individuals, admired at times for their individual graces, but relied upon to sustain a common project. "The glory …

Inquiry, Scholarship, And Learning And Teaching In Religiously Affiliated Colleges And Universities, Gerrit W. Gong

BYU Studies Quarterly

Overall, the BYU Inquiry Conference sought to affirm by policy statement and living practice BYU's deep commitment to the shared values and approaches of the American academy and to our own unique mission. This collection of contributions to the conference seeks to capture this ongoing campuswide discussion. It invites readers to join the continuing open dialogue, so pertinent in this time, regarding approaches, roles, and relations as they involve inquiry, scholarship, and learning and teaching in religiously affiliated colleges and universities, including Brigham Young University.

Integration, Inquiry, And The Hopeful Search For Truth, Thomas S. Hibbs

BYU Studies Quarterly

Over the past five to ten years, a strange discontent has bubbled up out of the nation's leading universities. If I had to put my finger on the source of this discontent-- and this is out of Harvard, Yale, Princeton-- I'd say that leading administrators at many institutions are confronting the perplexing realization that universities seem unable to be universities. Universities seem unable to gain and implement the self-understanding of what they are as an institution, the purpose of what they do in the classroom with their students, and what they hope to form in their students and to produce …

Faith And Inquiry, Justin F. White

BYU Studies Quarterly

My wife's uncle recently, and somewhat smugly, said something to the effect, "It's too bad you're studying philosophy (or perhaps any subject) at BYU since you only get one perspective." For the most part, I've found this is simply not true. I've found professors and students not nearly as homogeneous as often portrayed. Though I agree with my wife's uncle that we should engage in dialogue with those of differing opinions, since there are, of course, disadvantages when only a single perspective is represented on a topic, I'd like to focus on one potential positive interpretation of the sameness he …

Straight (Not Strait) And Narrow, John S. Welch

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

Between 1830 and 1981, all printed editions of the Book of Mormon contained the phrase ” straight and narrow path [or course]” in four verses. The change in 1981 to “strait and narrow path [or course]” has been supported by several arguments, including the lack of the phrase “straight and narrow” in the King James version of the Bible. Welch counters this argument with the history of the introduction and rise of the phrase “straight and narrow” among Western authors. Working through each of the other arguments and offering his own counterarguments and evidences, he delivers his opinion that these …

Recovering The Original Text Of The Book Of Mormon: An Interim Review, M. Gerald Bradford

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

Bradford introduces reviews of Royal Skousen’s work on the critical text project.

The Book Of Mormon Critical Text Project, Terryl L. Givens

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

Royal Skousen’s endeavor to recover the original text of the Book of Mormon is more complicated than it seems because it involves more than simply reproducing the original manuscript. Rather, what Skousen means by “original text” is the very language that appeared on the Urim and Thummim. Every subsequent step, such as Joseph’s reading, his scribes’ understanding and transcribing of that utterance, and Oliver Cowdery’s copying of the manuscript for the printer, exposed the text to the possibility of human subjectivity and error. This paper explains the nature and scope of Skousen’s monumental undertaking and presents some of the methods …

Joseph Smith And The Text Of The Book Of Mormon, Robert J. Matthews

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

Royal Skousen’s most significant contribution to Book of Mormon scholarship, this paper states, is in openly and systematically detailing the thousands of variants that occur across two manuscripts and twenty editions and showing that these variations do not affect the message or validity of the book as a witness of Jesus Christ. Skousen’s work also offers new insights into the process of translating and publishing the Book of Mormon. Though the work of translation appears to have involved a number of different methods, we can nevertheless be sure that the Book of Mormon was translated by the “gift and power …

Scholarship For The Ages, Grant R. Hardy

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

Until now, nearly all commentaries on the Book of Mormon have focused mainly on issues of doctrine rather than beginning with the text itself. Royal Skousen’s critical text project does the opposite by treating the text itself on the word and phrase level. Skousen weighs nearly all possible evidence to deduce the events that may have led to the variations seen in the texts and to draw conclusions about which readings are most likely original. Some conclusions may surprise readers, but Skousen is more interested in candidly documenting what the texts reveal than in interpreting all the implications. Several lengthy …

Insights Available As We Approach The Original Text, Kerry Muhlestein

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

In his effort to correct and preserve the original text of the Book of the Mormon, Royal Skousen has also increased our understanding of and appreciation for this volume of sacred scripture. Skousen’s close examination of the use of words and phrases throughout the book highlights its intertextuality and demonstrates that Book of Mormon authors were aware of and influenced by the words of previous authors. Moreover, restoring the original text helps clarify some vague constructions and should also caution us against putting too much emphasis on the exact wording of the present Book of Mormon. Skousen’s analysis of how …

Seeking Joseph Smith's Voice, Kevin L. Barney

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

Royal Skousen’s work on his Book of Mormon critical text project demonstrates that he is an able textual critic who employs sound judgment and proven methods to uncover the original text of the Book of Mormon. In many cases, these decisions seem counterintuitive to untrained readers, but Skousen correctly applies the principle that a more awkward reading is most likely original. He also shows his ability to make conjectural emendations for which no direct textual evidence is available. In every case, Skousen clearly lays out his reasoning so that readers who disagree with his inferences can examine the evidence for …

Alma's Enemies: The Case Of The Lamanites, Amlicites, And Mysterious Amalekites, J. Christopher Conkling

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

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

A Conversation With Robert J. Matthews, Journal Of Book Of Mormon Studies

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

Robert J. Matthews was influenced by the Book of Mormon to pursue his studies of the Joseph Smith Translation. He was intrigued by what the Book of Mormon said about the Bible. To further one’s understanding of the Book of Mormon, Matthews recommends further study on the Near East and an analysis of the internal structure of the book. Royal Skousen’s work on the comparative text, Hugh Nibley’s Book of Mormon writings, and articles in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism on the Book of Mormon are sources for increasing one’s knowledge of that book.

Had For Good And Evil: 19th-Century Literary Treatments Of The Book Of Mormon, Richard H. Cracroft

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

Moroni prophesied on 21 September 1823 that Joseph’s name, and by implication the book he would eventually translate and publish, should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues. Many current criticisms of the Book of Mormon trace their roots to the antagonistic critiques by 19th-century authors, beginning with Abner Cole, Alexander Campbell, and E. D. Howe. Campbell in particular was responsible for introducing the environmental theory: that Joseph Smith introduced 19th-century elements into his story. Travelers to Salt Lake City published their exposés, which were mostly critical of the Latter-day Saints and their book of …