Mormon Studies Commons^™

Joseph Of Egypt As A Model Of Gospel Living, Khumbulani D. Mdletshe

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

In Genesis 37–50, the narrative of Joseph of Egypt offers instructive lessons on the blessings that flow from persevering through trials while honoring covenant commitments with God. Joseph’s capacity to consistently and courageously apply eternal principles when facing abuse, temptation, injustice, and other challenges not only led to his personal success but also proved critical for those whom he served as a slave and prisoner and, once he was elevated to great power in Egypt, for the numerous subjects of Pharaoh’s kingdom during times of famine. This essay identifies and discusses the primary principles that guided Joseph’s efforts to accomplish …

Relational Grace The Reciprocal And Binding Covenant Of Charis, Brent J. Schmidt

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

In New Testament times, the concept of grace (Greek charis) was operative in relationships in which a person giving something of value to another could expect the recipient to provide service, thanks, or something else of much lesser value in return. When the Apostle Paul described Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice as a gift (charis), his ancient audiences understood that redemptive act as initiating a covenantal bond with expectations of devoted discipleship. Bible translators have never properly conveyed Paul’s message of active, obliging grace, an oversight that some scholars of the New Pauline Perspective are now demonstrating. During the Great Apostasy, …

Department And Individual Efforts To Amplify Prophetic Messages, Scott C. Esplin, Brad Streeter, Rory Bigelow, Aaron Shumway, David Peck

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

This panel focuses on Church Educational System efforts to follow Elder Clark G. Gilbert’s counsel to amplify prophetic messages. An amplifier takes an input source such as a microphone and increases its amplitude or size and sends it through an output source such as a speaker. Instructors can help students reduce background noise, or contradictory information from sources other than the Savior or prophets.

End Matter

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Perfectionism Across Adolescence, W. Justin Dyer

BYU Studies

As a sixteen-year- old on my first date, I had such a nervous tightness in my stomach that, at one point, I ran to the bathroom to throw up. I’d always been somewhat nervous, but it had never bothered me much before. Yet from that time on through my teenage years, any time there was something new happening, I would inevitably have to throw up.

Full Issue

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

No abstract provided.

Observation, Reason, Faith, And Revelation, Dale G. Renlund

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

While some might believe that observation and reason are at odds with faith, they in fact support our ability to receive revelation. We can be deceived when we draw conclusions based on observation, reason, or faith alone, but when used in harmony, they facilitate revelation and enable the Holy Ghost to be our constant companion. Following this pattern of revelation increases the spiritual momentum in our lives.

Experiencing The Doctrine Of Christ, Gaye Strathearn

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

This paper compares the prophetic teaching of Nephi, son of Lehi, regarding the doctrine of Christ and the teaching of the resurrected Jesus in the Americas. This comparison shows the purposeful and experiential nature of Christ’s teaching, leading the Nephites to experience the doctrine of Christ rather than simply hear it. By drawing on scriptural texts in the Book of Mormon and the New Testament, this paper shows how each step of the doctrine of Christ was presented to and experienced by those who were witnesses to the Savior in the Americas. These insights directly relate to current seekers of …

Stephen Burnett Versus The Eight Witnesses An Exercise In Mature Historical Thinking, Neal Rappleye, Stephen O. Smoot

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

This article critically examines the credibility of the claims made by Stephen Burnett about the experience of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon. A disaffected Latter-day Saint who lost his faith in Joseph Smith after the failure of the Kirtland Safety Society in 1837, Burnett wrote a scathing letter in early 1838 in which he claimed he heard Martin Harris admit that the Eight Witnesses did not physically see and handle the gold plates as claimed in their printed testimony. This article argues that Burnett is not a credible source for accurately understanding the experience of the Eight …

Full Issue

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

No abstract provided.

A Pillar Of Light, Alex Arner

BYU Studies

I remember the first time I tried to have my first vision. It had been a normal Sunday at my house. Mom made blueberry muffins to get me and my siblings out of bed so we could make it to church on time. When we got to church, I sat down and quickly lodged my feet against the rough carpet on the back of the pew. Instead of listening to the talks, I began my favorite sacrament meeting game: the fastest foot contest. I’d relax my legs and watch my church shoes slide down the pew. The first foot to …

Irresistible Burdens, Marilyn Bushman-Carlton

BYU Studies

The children would be asleep

by the time we pulled away from the jammed parking lot,

Explaining Mormonism: A Believing Skeptic’S Guide To The Latter-Day Saint Worldview By Gregory Steven Dundas, Roger Terry

BYU Studies

BYU Studies author Gregory Dundas has written a book aimed primarily at a non– Latter-day Saint audience to inform them about the beliefs, culture, and practices of the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Dundas is an engaging writer who has a diverse background and whose research is both broad and thorough.

End Matter

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Liberty Jail: Seedbed For Eternal Temple Blessings, Steven L. Olsen

BYU Studies

The difficult Missouri winter of 1838–39 exacerbated an emerging existential crisis for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its founding prophet, Joseph Smith. Latter-day Saints were being driven from their homes and killed by armed militias who justified their aggression with the “extermination order” of Governor Lilburn W. Boggs. This forced evacuation also dispossessed the Latter-day Saints of their “land of promise” and “center place of Zion”—the capital of their millennial utopia that was named for the primordial patriarch Enoch’s “City of Holiness,” whose inhabitants’ righteousness was sufficient, according to Joseph’s visions, to effect its translation into …

Accessing Nephi’S Bountiful: A New Proposal For Reaching Irreantum, Warren P. Aston

Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Many Latter-day Saint scholars recognize that an excellent candidate for Nephi’s Bountiful is found at the inlet Khor Kharfot in southern Oman at the end of the lengthy Wadi Sayq. Many researchers have reasonably assumed that Lehi’s eastward travel from Nahom must have led to Wadi Sayq, which then leads directly to Khor Kharfot. However, there is a second route, through Wadi Kharfot, that leads to Khor Kharfot, joining Wadi Sayq near the inlet. Although almost unknown, this second wadi could also have offered a plausible route with some advantages to travelers arriving from the interior desert plateau. Specifics and …

Front Matter

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

Rediscovering Zoram: The Chief NaʿAr Of The Commander Of The Fortress, Kelly N. Schaeffer-Bullock

BYU Studies

There are several prominent figures in the opening chapters of the Book of Mormon whose roles, responsibilities, and titles may have eluded the modern reader. As more is learned about ancient Israelite laws, customs, and culture through archaeological successes and academic research, previous biblical scholarship is reworked, refined, or totally redesigned. So too with academic scholarship on the Book of Mormon. The way readers understand the central figures in the opening chapters of the Book of Mormon must be regularly reassessed as additional information is obtained. There is still a great deal more to discover about the people who played …

Can God Truly Forget My Sins?: Christian Temporality And The Possibility Of Repentance, James E. Faulconer

BYU Studies

When we think about repentance, we face a conundrum. On one hand, we are promised new life. As Paul says, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). On the other hand, the repentant person remains the same person that he or she was. In the younger Alma’s case, he is the person who “had murdered many of [God’s] children, or rather led them away unto destruction” (Alma 36:14). How can Alma be both a new person and the person who led many …