Digital Commons Network^™

Geology Of The Book Of Mormon, Benjamin R. Jordan

BYU Studies Quarterly

Jerry D. Grover Jr. Geology oof the Book of Mormon.

Provo, Utah: By the author, 2014.

Kingship, Democracy, And The Message Of The Book Of Mormon, Gregory Steven Dundas

BYU Studies Quarterly

Chapter 29 of the book of Mosiah, in which the people of Zarahemla transform their government from a monarchy to a rule of judges, is a crucial—indeed, pivotal—chapter in the Book of Mormon. Modern readers of the book, particularly those of us raised in Western nations, are prone to react very positively to this story, viewing it as the creation of a free, democratic system, and we are inclined to read this account with something of the same thrill with which we observed the freedom-loving, democratic urges of peoples worldwide, most notably in Eastern Europe in 1989 and in more …

Reading Competency In The Book Of Mormon: Abish And Other Model Readers, Michael J. Call

BYU Studies Quarterly

In chapter 19 of the book of Alma, we are introduced to Abish, described in the narrative as one of the “Lamanitish women” serving in King Lamoni’s court (Alma 19:16). Mormon’s account of her experience on the day of the king’s conversion is compelling for many reasons, but I would like to explore here how Abish and other important figures in the text function as model readers, exhibiting the traits and competencies that the Book of Mormon authors expected the future reader of their text to bring to the reading act. In fact, a careful analysis of important reading acts …

The Ancient Doctrine Of The Two Ways And The Book Of Mormon, Noel B. Reynolds

BYU Studies Quarterly

From its opening pages to the end, the Bible describes a bifurcated world in which God bids, commands, and teaches the people he has created to follow him in the way of righteousness, and in which the devil leads people into wickedness. And while great blessings and cursings are promised and realized in this life according to which way people choose to live their lives, the final judgment comes after this life when all will be judged according to whether they chose to follow good or evil. This way of seeing things surfaces explicitly in various texts and is known …

Samuel And His Nephite Sources, John Hilton Iii, Sunny Hendry Hafen, Jaron Hansen

BYU Studies Quarterly

Samuel the Lamanite is a unique and powerful individual in the Book of Mormon. Dennis Largey described him as “one of the most colorful figures in the Book of Mormon,” stating that “few readers can forget the image of this fearless servant of God announcing the dramatic signs of Christ’s birth and death, crying repentance from the walls of Zarahemla."

The Bible, Mormon Scripture, And The Rhetoric Of Allusivity, Jeffrey D. Tucker

BYU Studies Quarterly

Nicholas J. Frederick. The Bible, Mormon Scripture, and the Rhetoric of Allusivity.

Madison, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2016.

Animals In The Book Of Mormon: Challenges And Perspectives, Wade E. Miller, Matthew Roper

BYU Studies Quarterly

When the Book of Mormon first appeared, skeptics said that references to horses, asses, elephants, and other animals (such as swine and cows) were out of place. During the first century after its publication, Book of Mormon critics argued that such animals never existed anywhere in the Americas before the arrival of Columbus and western Europeans in the late fifteenth century. In time, however, scientific discoveries showed that species of horses, asses, elephants, and other animals had once been present in North America, although dating to an earlier period than that covered in the Book of Mormon. Encouraged by such …