Mormon Studies Commons^™

Is The Bible Reliable?, Eric A. Eliason

BYU Studies

The eighth article of faith proclaims, “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly.” This statement by itself suggests that the Bible as we have it may or may not be fully and reliably the word of God. In 1 Nephi 13:28, we read, “Many plain and precious things [were] taken away.” This passage more expressly indicates that the Bible we have now is indeed not as complete as originally intended. Joseph Smith elaborated on this theme with his statement that “ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have …

Doctrinal Insights From Joseph Smith’S First Vision, Robert L. Millet

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

The appearing of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith is the foundation of this Church,” President David O. McKay stated. “Therein lies the secret of [the Church’s] strength and vitality. . . . What God is, is answered. His relation to his children is clear.” President Ezra Taft Benson pointed out, “Sometimes I think we are so close to [the First Vision] that we don’t fully appreciate its significance and importance and the magnitude of it.” President Benson then added, “The first vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith is bedrock theology in this Church.”

Is Sure Knowledge An Ideal For Everyone Or One Spiritual Gift Among Many?, Blair Dee Hodges, Patrick Q. Mason

BYU Studies

“I’d like to bear my testimony. I know the Church is true. I know that Heavenly Father lives and loves us. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and restored the Church on the earth. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know that the Church is led by living prophets today. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

Front Matter

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

The Joseph Smith Translation Of The Bible: Ancient Material Restored Or Inspired Commentary? Canonical Or Optional? Finished Or Unfinished?, Jared W. Ludlow

BYU Studies

Joseph Smith began an ambitious program to revise the biblical text in June 1830, not long after the organization of the Church of Christ and the publication of the Book of Mormon. While the result came to be known as the Joseph Smith Translation (JST), it was not a literal word-for-word translation of ancient biblical languages from a manuscript but more of an inspired revision or paraphrase based on the King James Version in English, carried out primarily between June 1830 and July 1833.¹ Since Joseph Smith never specifically addressed how or exactly why he made the particular changes …

“Oh Say, What Is Truth?”: Approaches To Doctrine, Michael Goodman

BYU Studies

The restored gospel of Jesus Christ, like other religious traditions, claims to be based on true doctrines.² The above hymn, included in the first edition of the Pearl of Great Price, encapsulates the deep longing for truth by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Statements by Church leaders abound extolling the virtue and power of truth, but such statements often beg the question, What is truth? Scripture states that “truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come.”³ Church curricular material further states that “divine …

Is The Song Of Solomon Scripture?, Dana M. Pike, Eric A. Eliason

BYU Studies

Many Latter-day Saint youth may have had their first exposure to the Song of Solomon in seminary or on a mission. “Tear it out of your Bible,” “Staple the pages together,” or “Write ‘DO NOT READ’ on the title page with your red scripture marker!” are variants of stories passed on about what seminary teachers or mission presidents have advised. Since such sensational admonitions are almost guaranteed to pique teenagers’ curiosity, they are presumably more alive in student rumors than in the actual practice of seminary and institute instructors or mission leaders. Such stories may be reactions to Bruce R. …

The Saints And The State : The Mormon Troubles In Illinois, James Simeone

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

A compelling history of the 1846 Mormon expulsion from Illinois that exemplifies the limits of American democracy and religious tolerance.

When members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (known as Mormons) settled in Illinois in 1839, they had been persecuted for their beliefs from Ohio to Missouri. Illinoisans viewed themselves as religiously tolerant egalitarians and initially welcomed the Mormons to their state. However, non-Mormon locals who valued competitive individualism perceived the saints‘ western Illinois settlement, Nauvoo, as a theocracy with too much political power. Amid escalating tensions in 1844, anti-Mormon vigilantes assassinated church founder Joseph Smith and …

Clark Memorandum: Spring 2021, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Byu Law School Alumni Association, J. Reuben Clark Law Society

The Clark Memorandum

• Rooting Out Racism
• How Do We Practice Our Religion While We Practice?
• Hope in Hardship
• The Unity Paradox

Read on Issuu

What Her Missionary Son’S Letter Didn’T Say, Darlene Young

BYU Studies

Rain hangs in the air. Even my underwear feels wet.

I listen to the tapping fingertips of the bodies of bugs hitting netting at night. Gray water. Bare floors.

Shoulders, Bethany Sorensen

BYU Studies

"We” are taking a nap, but she’s the only one sleeping. The canvas shade above our heads and the subtle breeze off the water make the 95-degree heat tolerable. The gentle rocking of the houseboat lulls us both into a trance.

Manuscripts, Murder, And A Miniseries: A Personal Essay, Richard E. Turley Jr.

BYU Studies

On March 3, 2021, a three-part miniseries on the Mark Hofmann forgery-murder case of the 1980s premiered on Netflix, a popular subscription-based streaming service. The three-part miniseries, titled Murder among the Mormons, quickly catapulted into the top echelon of most-watched Netflix programs in the United States.1 Because I appeared in the miniseries, many people began asking me questions about this criminal case I have followed since it first attracted widespread public attention.

Raised Unto Eternal Life: The Principle Of Ascension In The Revelations Of The Restoration, William Perez

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the gospel—you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation.” This step-by-step ascension is both literal and symbolic. Ascension was woven throughout ancient scripture and climaxed in Jesus Christ’s physical ascension into heaven. What does ascension represent for Latter-day Saints? How are we to understand its implications in our own salvific journey? The answers to these …

Latter-Day Saints In Washington, D.C., Tina Hawley

BYU Studies

Latter-day Saints in Washington, D.C., is edited by Brigham Young University professors of Church history and doctrine Kenneth L. Alford, Lloyd D. Newell, and Alexander L. Baugh. This volume collects essays written by the faculty of the Department of Church History and Doctrine at BYU after they traveled to D.C., attending a symposium in the Washington D.C. Temple Visitors’ Center. The essays are organized into three sections—“History,” “People,” and “Places”—aiming to educate readers about the intriguing, complicated relationship between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the United States federal government.

Innovating Institute, Ryan J. Wessel

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

Seminaries and Institutes (S&I) recently began a process to innovate the institute experience. There was a general concern among the leaders of S&I that while participation in institute seemed to have a meaningful, positive impact on students’ lives, the institute experience appealed to too few of the young single adults in the Church. At the time, about half of young adults who participated in the Church enrolled in institute each year. Perhaps institute could be updated to more effectively teach the restored gospel within the context of current technological and demographic trends, and with a greater understanding of students’ circumstances …

The Haifa, Israel, Missionary Graves And The Byu Jerusalem Center, Kent P. Jackson

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

Many Latter-day Saints have heard the story that graves of Latter-day Saint missionaries who died and were buried in Haifa, Israel, made possible Brigham Young University’s Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. The story goes like this: The graves of missionaries who died in the 1890s provided evidence of a Latter-day Saint presence in the Holy Land before the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, which evidence was required for the Church to be recognized in Israel and/or for BYU to obtain approval for the construction of the Jerusalem Center.

The story is not true.

Hugh Nibley Observed, David R. Seely

BYU Studies

As a tribute to Hugh Nibley the editors of this volume have collected forty essays written by Nibley’s family, peers, colleagues, students, and friends. The title of the book is a play on the title of Nibley’s autobiographical film, The Faith of an Observer: Conversations with Hugh Nibley. As described in the introduction, this volume contains “a kaleidoscope of portraits, perspectives, and memories from family, friends, and colleagues—observers, as it were, of a preeminent observer.”

Front Matter

BYU Studies

No abstract provided.

A Teacher’S Plea, Tyler Johnson

BYU Studies

Modernity surges from change to change.

The last thirty years, after all, have seen the advent of the smartphone, the proliferation of the internet, the democratization of the press, the dawn of social media, the creation of eBay and Amazon, the beginning of Google, and the birth of the post-9/11 world order.

Captain Moroni And The Sermon On The Mount: Resolving A Scriptural Tension, Duane Boyce

BYU Studies

A natural tension seems to exist between two important features of the Book of Mormon. On one hand, Mormon includes in his record a version of the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus gave to the Nephites—an address that sets the standard for discipleship and that contains teachings obviously opposed to violence.1 In it, we hear about not resisting evil, turning the other cheek, going another mile when compelled to go one, loving our enemies—and so forth (3 Ne. 12:39–44). On the other hand, Mormon also presents various Nephite leaders as righteous even though they were immersed in violence. Captain …