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Articles 31 - 60 of 205
Full-Text Articles in Religious Education
Ancient Manuscripts Fit Book Of Mormon Pattern, John Gee, John A. Tvedtnes
Ancient Manuscripts Fit Book Of Mormon Pattern, John Gee, John A. Tvedtnes
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
The Prophet Joseph Smith's claim that he translated an ancient text from gold plates he had found buried in the ground was greeted with disbelief in the press and in early anti-Mormon literature. Alexander Campbell, a prominent American religious leader who wrote the first book critical of the Book of Mormon, scoffed at the fact that it had been translated "from the reformed Egyptian!!!" Critics derided the Book of Mormon by calling it the "gold Bible," reflecting the skepticism about scripture being written on metal plates.
New Research On Hidden Books In Ancient Times
New Research On Hidden Books In Ancient Times
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
In The Book of Mormon and Other Hidden Books: "Out of Darkness unto Light," a new book from FARMS, John A. Tvedtnes, associate director of research at FARMS, demonstrates how "various elements of the Book of Mormon story have antecedents in the ancient world that were not known to Joseph Smith or his contemporaries."
Abraham In Egypt
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
This revised and polished edition of Abraham in Egypt combines Hugh Nibley' s greatest lectures on Abraham with several new chapters that originally appeared in the Improvement Era from 1968 to 1970 as the series "A Look at the Pearl of Great Price." In this volume Nibley counters the attacks of critics and demonstrates how the Book of Abraham is just what Joseph Smith claimed it to be.
Honorary Volume Focuses On Church History And Doctrine
Honorary Volume Focuses On Church History And Doctrine
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Richard Lloyd Anderson - known as a devoted teacher, careful writer, and perfect gentleman - has had a great impact on the study of LDS Church history. In The Disciple as Witness: Essays on Latter-day Saint History and Doctrine in Honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson, one of two Festschrift volumes published in recognition of his work, friends and colleagues have written 18 scholarly studies in his honor. Several of these papers were presented on 8 March 1997 at a conference titled "Pioneers of the Restoration."
New Volume Honors Truman G. Madsen
New Volume Honors Truman G. Madsen
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
The distinguished career of Truman G. Madsen has earned him wide respect in and outside of LDS circles as an outstanding teacher, scholar, researcher, speaker, university administrator, church leader, and religious ambassador. With the publication of Revelation, Reason, and Faith: Essays in Honor of Truman G. Madsen, the Institute pays tribute to this remarkable man whose many accomplishments include helping to advance Book of Mormon scholarship and related interests of the Institute.
Joseph Smith Right On Target, New Book Shows
Joseph Smith Right On Target, New Book Shows
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
In his writings over the years, Hugh Nibley has often pointed out “hits” and “bull’s-eyes” in the Book of Mormon—details about the ancient world that were unknown until recent times but that Joseph Smith got right anyway. Serious Book of Mormon research took shape in the early 1900s but has accelerated in recent decades, establishing an entire field of scholarly endeavor and yielding many clues to the book’s ancient origins.
New Book A Milestone In Mormon Studies, Louis C. Midgley
New Book A Milestone In Mormon Studies, Louis C. Midgley
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Latter-day Saint scholar Terryl L. Givens has recently made two extraordinary contributions to Mormon studies. The first, Viper on the Hearth: Mormons,Myths, and the Construction of Heresy, was published by the prestigious Oxford University Press in 1997 and received virtually uniformly glowing reviews. If one wishes to understand the complex of interests and motivations—pecuniary, personal, and ideological—that fuel both sectarian and secular anti-Mormonism, Viper is the book to consult. The editors at Oxford appreciated the merits of this well-written, informative book and invited Givens to publish again with them. The result is By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture …
Forthcoming Publications
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
The Hôr Book of Breathings: A Translation and Commentary, by Michael D. Rhodes, treats the fragments of the Joseph Smith Papyri associated with Facsimiles 1 and 3 of the Book of Abraham. Available in March 2002.
King Mosiah And The Judgeship, John A. Tvedtnes
King Mosiah And The Judgeship, John A. Tvedtnes
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
The immediate situation that prompted Mosiah to institute a system of judges to govern the Nephites was the departure of his four sons. The people asked that Aaron be appointed king, but he and his brothers had gone to the land of Nephi to preach to the Lamanites and had renounced their claims to the monarchy (see Mosiah 29:1–6).
Brown Bag Report
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
On 30 October John L. Clark, emeritus instructor in the Church Educational System, spoke on the topic “Painting Out the Messiah: Theologies of the Dissidents.” Clark began by showing that Lehi, Nephi, and Jacob all taught specifically about the Messiah but that dissidents like Sherem and Nehor opposed their teachings with “theologies” that denied Christ’s redemptive role and godhood, thereby causing many believers to lose faith. Clark then examined the arguments of the dissidents in the Book of Mormon to show what the prophets were teaching and what the objections to those teachings were. He discusses this topic at length …
Farms Scholars At Sperry Symposium
Farms Scholars At Sperry Symposium
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
2004In any given year, FARMS-affiliated scholars present their research at a number of scholarly conferences at home and abroad. Brigham Young University’s Sidney B. Sperry Symposium in Octo-ber 2004, entitled “Prelude to the Restoration: From Apostasy to the Restored Church,” was one such venue on the home front. Selected highlights follow.
Farms Book Of Mormon Research Highlighted
Farms Book Of Mormon Research Highlighted
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
During a recent meeting of the FARMS Development Council, four principal investigators on Book of Mormon–related projects reviewed the status of their ongoing work. The reports clarified each project’s goals, highlighted new findings, noted future directions, and expressed appreciation for the crucial support of generous donors, many of whom were in attendance. A summary of the presentations follows.
The Pleading Bar Of God, Royal Skousen
The Pleading Bar Of God, Royal Skousen
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Near the end of his life, the prophet Nephi referred to the day of judgment and declared that we, the readers of the Book of Mormon, will stand face to face with him before the bar of Christ (2 Nephi 33:11). Similarly, the prophets Jacob and Moroni referred to meeting us when we appear before “the pleasing bar” of God to be judged.
Restoring The Original Text Of The Book Of Mormon
Restoring The Original Text Of The Book Of Mormon
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Elegantly produced and weighing in at 652 pages, the first part of volume 4 in Professor Royal Skousen’s ongoing Book of Mormon critical text project has just come from the press. Volumes 1 and 2, containing transcripts of the original manuscript and the printer’s manuscript of the Book of Mormon, were published by FARMS in 2001. Volume 3, which will describe the history of the Book of Mormon text from Joseph Smith’s original dictation through the current standard editions, will appear after all parts of volume 4 have been published. Volume 3 will include a complete analysis of the grammatical …
Patrick Henry, Gideon, And The Book Of Mormon
Patrick Henry, Gideon, And The Book Of Mormon
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Historian Richard L. Bush-man, responding to accusations that the Book of Mormon contains “evidence of nineteenth-century American political culture,” concluded that in fact “most of the principles tradition-ally associated with the American Constitution are slighted or disregarded altogether” in the book. “So many of the powerful intellectual influences operating on Joseph Smith failed to touch the Book of Mormon.”
Nibley Classic On Papyri Given New Life In Second Edition
Nibley Classic On Papyri Given New Life In Second Edition
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
After years of intense effort, the long-overdue second edition of Hugh Nibley’s 1975 book The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment is at press. This new edition has been meticulously pre-pared by BYU Egyptologists John Gee and Michael D. Rhodes, who upgraded this Nibley classic on many points (some unseen, others impossible to miss, such as the superior illustrations by Michael Lyon) while preserving the original con-tent. Published by FARMS and Deseret Book, this edition is a fitting tribute to Nibley’s pioneering work and will enable a new generation of students and scholars to profit from Nibley’s …
Library Of Congress Hosts Academic Conference On Joseph Smith, Part 2
Library Of Congress Hosts Academic Conference On Joseph Smith, Part 2
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
This report covers the proceedings of the second day of “The Worlds of Joseph Smith,” an academic conference held on 6–7 May 2005 at the Library of Congress, in Washington DC, in recognition of the bicentennial of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s birth. For a report of the first day of proceedings, see the article in Insights 25/3 (2005).
Library Of Congress Hosts Academic Conference On Joseph Smith
Library Of Congress Hosts Academic Conference On Joseph Smith
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
In recognition of the bicentennial of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s birth, the Library of Congress, in Washington DC, hosted an academic conference on 6–7 May 2005 titled “The Worlds of Joseph Smith.” Carried internationally via webcast, the event featured 17 scholars (nearly evenly divided between Latter-day Saints and those of other faiths) who examined Joseph Smith’s theological contributions and evaluated the claim that the church he founded is on track to becoming a world religion.
Temples Everywhere, Hugh W. Nibley
Temples Everywhere, Hugh W. Nibley
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Those of us who saw the recent television documentary American Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith may have noticed an interesting defect in the script, namely, that it was Hamlet with Hamlet left out. It was as if one were to produce the life of Shakespeare with charming views of Stratford-upon-Avon, country school, the poaching story, marriage to Anne Hatha-way, showbiz in London, and respectable retirement without bothering to mention that our leading character gave the world the greatest treasury of dramatic art in existence. Or a life of Bach with his niggardly brother-guardian, his early poverty, his odd jobs …
Maxwell Institute Supports Byu Symposium On Oliver Cowdery With Speakers, New Book
Maxwell Institute Supports Byu Symposium On Oliver Cowdery With Speakers, New Book
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
To commemorate the 200th anniversary of Oliver Cowdery’s birth on 3 October 1806, more than a dozen scholars treated crowds in the BYU Conference Center to fresh perspectives on Cowdery as a central figure in the Restoration. Entitled “Oliver Cowdery: Restoration Witness, Second Elder,” the symposium featured cultural historian Richard L. Bushman as keynote speaker and several other distinguished speakers spread throughout four sessions of three or four concurrent presentations each. Cosponsors of the five-hour event, held on 10 November, were the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation and BYU’s Religious Studies Center.
Joseph Smith, Responses To Early Missionaries Topics In Byu Studies
Joseph Smith, Responses To Early Missionaries Topics In Byu Studies
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Following closely on the heels of a recent double-sized issue on Mormons and film, the latest issue of BYU Studies contains a landmark study by historian Max H Parkin entitled “Joseph Smith and the United Firm: The Growth and Decline of the Church’s First Master Plan of Business and Finance, Ohio and Missouri, 1832–1834.” Never before have the historical documents been so thoroughly and masterfully marshaled to give readers a heightened appreciation for the importance of the “United Firm” in the early Church. Along with all else that Joseph Smith was revealing and directing during these years, the consecrated legacy …
Occasional Papers Spotlights The Book Of Mormon
Occasional Papers Spotlights The Book Of Mormon
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
The latest issue of the Maxwell Institute’s Occasional Papers (number 5 in the series) focuses exclusively on what Joseph Smith called “the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion”—the Book of Mormon. As M. Gerald Bradford, editor of the series and associate executive director of the Maxwell Institute notes, “the papers in this volume show that the Book of Mormon can be studied and understood from a wide variety of scholarly disciplines.”
Worth Repeating: “The Book Of Mormon As A Mesoamerican Record”, John L. Sorenson
Worth Repeating: “The Book Of Mormon As A Mesoamerican Record”, John L. Sorenson
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
The Nephite account is a record that resembles in form, nature, and functions—in scores of characteristics, in fact—what we would expect in an ancient Mesoamerican codex, a type of document that was utterly unknown to Joseph Smith.
Repetitive Resumption In The Book Of Mormon, David E. Bokovoy
Repetitive Resumption In The Book Of Mormon, David E. Bokovoy
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
One of the most important contributions of biblical scholarship since the time of Joseph Smith has been the recognition and analysis of editorial activity in the Old Testament. Like the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Mormon is a compilation of several literary sources produced under the auspices of ancient editors or redactors. Significantly, one of the primary signs of editorial activity in the Old Testament, a technique known as repetitive resumption, is also attested in the Book of Mormon.
The Joseph Smith Papers Project, Ronald K. Esplin
The Joseph Smith Papers Project, Ronald K. Esplin
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
The Joseph Smith Papers Project seeks to do for Joseph Smith what has been done (and is being done) for George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and other important early Americans: Make their papers easily accessible and more intelligible by publishing them in a carefully prepared, comprehensive scholarly edition. Historians rely on documents to gain insight into the facts, relationships, and other realities of the past, the raw materials from which they construct their narratives and interpretations. The task of scholars functioning as documentary editors is to help readers and other scholars understand the documents without getting too much in …
Joseph Smith’S Plea As Communal Lament, Dan Belnap
Joseph Smith’S Plea As Communal Lament, Dan Belnap
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
To complement the premiere issue of Studies in the Bible and Antiquity, which will be sent to our subscribers, we asked Dan Belnap, whose article appears in the first issue, to briefly expand part of his topic for Insights.
Anderson Speaks At Third Annual Neal A. Maxwell Lecture
Anderson Speaks At Third Annual Neal A. Maxwell Lecture
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
With the intent of probing the lives of Christ and Joseph Smith, Richard Lloyd Anderson, emeritus professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University, gave the third annual Neal A. Maxwell Lecture, held March 20, 2009. Anderson discussed the reliability of the documentary process by which we know of events in the New Testament and in the early years of the Restoration.
Wordprint Analysis And Joseph Smith’S Role As Editor Of The Times And Seasons, Paul Fields, Matthew Roper, Atul Nepal
Wordprint Analysis And Joseph Smith’S Role As Editor Of The Times And Seasons, Paul Fields, Matthew Roper, Atul Nepal
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
One of the issues that swirls around discus- sions of Book of Mormon geography is the rightful place the editorials in the 1842 Times and Seasons must take. The story of the editorials begins with Joseph’s receipt of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood’s Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chaipas, and Yucatan, published in 1841. In early 1842, the Times and Seasons published several enthu- siastic articles that drew attention to the discoveries of Stephens and Catherwood in Central America and compared them favorably with the Book of Mormon. Two of these articles were signed by the editor, while …
Early Book Of Mormon Writings Now Online
Early Book Of Mormon Writings Now Online
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
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.
New Jst Electronic Library Offers Added Features
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 …