Finding Peace Amidst Uncertainty,
2025
Brigham Young University
Finding Peace Amidst Uncertainty, J. Anette Dennis
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
This BYU devotional emphasizes the power of faith and trust in Jesus Christ to bring us peace during chaotic times. Through personal anecdotes and testimonies, Sister Dennis illustrates how spiritual preparation and covenant relationships with God can provide protection, strength, and profound peace, even amidst life’s uncertainties and challenges. The address encourages individuals to build a firm spiritual foundation on our Savior, Jesus Christ, and trust in divine guidance to navigate life’s trials with confidence and resilience.
Key Direction In Seminary That Shaped Life Preparation Lessons,
2025
Brigham Young University
Key Direction In Seminary That Shaped Life Preparation Lessons, Jonathan E. Thomas
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
This article identifies the key direction given by S&I administration and other Church leaders during the years2015–24 to facilitate the teaching of topical lessons. It also examines how this key direction is reflected in the Life Preparation lessons in seminary curriculum. The strategic directions during these years pertain to the fundamentals of gospel teaching and learning, doctrinal mastery, deep learning, Christ-centeredness, the alignment between the seminary schedule and Come, Follow Me, the S&I strategic story, the Teaching in the Savior’s Way manual, and the revision of the objective of S&I. All of these combined directions and efforts led to the …
"Being Therefore Perfect" Matthew 5:48 In Modern Restoration And Ancient Jewish Contexts,
2025
Brigham Young University
"Being Therefore Perfect" Matthew 5:48 In Modern Restoration And Ancient Jewish Contexts, Trevan G. Hatch, Gerrit Van Dyk
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
Matthew 5:48 (“Be ye therefore perfect . . . ”) is a salient passage of scripture for Latter-day Saints because of its seeming focus on becoming like God, a key doctrine of the Latter-day Saints faith. But what insights do we gain from analyzing its ancient Jewish context by comparing it to a parallel verse in Luke 6, by examining the verses immediately preceding it, and by considering the Greek grammar of the passage and the ancient meaning of the word translated as perfect in its various contexts? This essay explores these interpretive angles as well as survey show this …
David W. Pattern Faithful Friend Or Heel Lifter?,
2025
Brigham Young University
David W. Pattern Faithful Friend Or Heel Lifter?, Mark T. Lewis
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
In 1843 Joseph Smith reflected on his experiences with the original members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in this dispensation, remarking that only Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball had not “lifted their heel” against him. Of the remaining ten members of the Quorum, nine faced documented disciplinary action or openly opposed Joseph, but David W. Patten did not. Patten’s loyalty, martyrdom, and frequent commendations from Joseph, the Lord, and his contemporaries make Patten’s exclusion from Joseph’s 1843praise of Brigham and Heber puzzling. Those who knew Patten spoke at length of his faithfulness and often listed his name …
Interview With Byu–Hawaii President John Kauwe Iii,
2025
Brigham Young University
Interview With Byu–Hawaii President John Kauwe Iii, Fred E. Woods
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
This interview with President Kauwe traces Kauwe’s path from his time as a student at BYU to his appointment as the eleventh president of BYU–Hawaii. Kauwe shares insights into his Hawaiian heritage, academic and professional accomplishments, and his aspirations for the university. He underscores the vital role of faculty inbuilding students’ confidence, the distinct intercultural setting of BYU–Hawaii, and the centrality of the gospel in education. Reflecting on the rapid progression of his career, Kauwe also speaks about the importance of following divine guidance in our lives. The interview captures his dedication to promoting intercultural harmony and his deep testimony …
Dear Adam,
2025
Brigham Young University
Far West,
2025
Brigham Young University
Baptisms For The Dead,
2025
Brigham Young University
What Can Artificial Intelligence Tell Us About The Literary Skills Needed To Dictate A Text Like The Book Of Mormon?,
2025
Brigham Young University
What Can Artificial Intelligence Tell Us About The Literary Skills Needed To Dictate A Text Like The Book Of Mormon?, Brian C. Hales
Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship
The first oral draft of the Book of Mormon dictated by Joseph Smith reflected remarkable literary refinement and complexity. Such observations demonstrate that he exhibited highly developed composition and oratory skills. To date, no scholar has attempted to describe the specific skills Joseph manifested while dictating. This essay addresses whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) could generate an accurate list of the skills necessary. It begins by identifying and informally testing eleven chatbots to see if they can accurately predict the skills needed to perform a task. Seeing success, they are next asked a long question about the skills needed to dictate …
Brigham Young Unfiltered His Life, Conversion, And Faith In His Own Words,
2025
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young Unfiltered His Life, Conversion, And Faith In His Own Words, Lajean Purcell Carruth
BYU Studies
On October 6, 1867, the Saints met in the new Salt Lake Tabernacle for the first time. Brigham Young rose, made some remarks about the still unfinished state of the organ, and then dedicated the tabernacle to the Lord. This dedicatory prayer was completely unknown until I found the original shorthand record of it several years ago and transcribed it; prior to that time, the earliest known dedication of the tabernacle was 1875. He prayed, “O God our Heavenly Father who dwells in the heavens, in the name of thy Son Jesus Christ we come before thee at this time …
Full Issue,
2025
Brigham Young University
Artist’S Note On This Is . . .,
2025
Brigham Young University
Artist’S Note On This Is . . ., Eli Peterson
BYU Studies
The First Vision has always been an inspiration to me—the opening of heaven, the burst of such a powerful presence that our Father in Heaven and Savior brought to the earth after nearly two thousand years.
“Not Only Men But Women Also” An Argument For Alma’S Intentional Inclusion Of Women,
2025
Brigham Young University
“Not Only Men But Women Also” An Argument For Alma’S Intentional Inclusion Of Women, Cassidy Nichole Pyper
BYU Studies
In an interestingly specific inclusion of women, Alma taught the Zoramites that “[God] imparteth his word by angels unto men, yea, not only men but women also” (Alma 32:23). This phrase suggests that Alma had an awareness of women and their ability to receive revelation despite how little the Book of Mormon explicitly includes women in its narrative.1 The Book of Mormon mentions women at drastically lower rates than even the Bible.2 Some students of the Book of Mormon are concerned not only that women are rarely spoken of in the text but also that women may have been ignored …
This Branch Of The Church The Early Development Of Local Administration In The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Part 1, The Emergent Church, 1830–1845,
2025
Brigham Young University
This Branch Of The Church The Early Development Of Local Administration In The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Part 1, The Emergent Church, 1830–1845, Brandon Plewe
BYU Studies
It is easy for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to read the Doctrine and Covenants, or most basic histories of the Church, and assume that the Church has always operated like it operates today, if a bit simpler. By the mid-1830s, most significant local and general offices and titles of Church leadership that we recognize today were in place, and it is possible to interpret historical texts through a modern understanding. Occasional inconsistencies can be easily dismissed as the vagaries of frontier language.
The Wonder Is Scripture,
2025
Brigham Young University
The Wonder Is Scripture, Jared Halverson
BYU Studies
It’s an honor to be associated in any way with this institute, as it’s my second-favorite thing named after Elder Neal A. Maxwell. The first is my eldest son, whose middle name was an obvious choice, largely because my wife loves Elder Maxwell even more than she loves me, which might be a problem were it not for the fact that I agree with her. I once spent so much time in this library creating a compilation of Elder Maxwell’s talks that by the time I was finished, my wife had called the police to report a missing person. When …
What Are We To Make Of The Gold Plates?,
2025
Brigham Young University
What Are We To Make Of The Gold Plates?, Richard Lyman Bushman
BYU Studies
During the winter of 2020–2021, I worked on the manuscript that was eventually published as Joseph Smith’s Gold Plates: A Cultural History (Oxford University Press, 2023). The book was an attempt to describe the many ways the plates had been imagined from the time they were first described as a “Golden Bible” in the June 1829 Wayne Sentinel1 down to the Sunday School and missionary lessons today. I marveled at the enduring interest in the plates over time, not only among Latter-day Saints but also among other American writers. In my lifetime, the plates had appeared in the Book of …
James Walks Home From Nain,
2025
Brigham Young University
James Walks Home From Nain, Robbie Taggart
BYU Studies
A pleasant place, he thinks as they descend the steep hill where sparrows dance, making their way among the tombs that line their narrow path. He imagines the lives and dreams of the inhabitants of these stone rooms. The way their voices have flown like leaves, the way they abide like trees.
“Struck With Wonder And Amazement” On Reading The Book Of Mosiah,
2025
Brigham Young University
“Struck With Wonder And Amazement” On Reading The Book Of Mosiah, Joseph M. Spencer
BYU Studies
The Wonder of Scripture”: that’s the title of this lecture series.1 Book of Mormon scholar that I am, that title draws my mind to a passage in our keystone scripture. It’s a passage where the word “wonder” is used in connection with people’s responses to sacred records—to scripture. Tucked away somewhere most of us wouldn’t think to look, the Book of Mormon stages a remarkable scene that’s precisely about the wonder of scripture. I can’t help seeing that as just a little too appropriate, so I’d like to examine that scene. I’m going to argue that Mormon, serving simultaneously in …
Seam Allowance,
2025
Brigham Young University
Seam Allowance, Sarah Hafen D’Evegnée
BYU Studies
The shirts hang like a battalion of cotton soldiers on the large metal rack sticking out of the wall. I remove them from the hangers one by one, letting my fingers linger over the stripes, checks, and plaids. Some of them still feel new. The laundry room mingles the freshness of laundry soap with the odor of aging linoleum and tangy, rusty overtones— the same way it has for the past twenty-five years. My children’s younger faces, their grins all gaps and crowded teeth, peer out at me from an assortment of paper flowers glued to a frame on the …
Royal Skousen’S Book Of Mormon Critical Text Project,
2025
Brigham Young University
Royal Skousen’S Book Of Mormon Critical Text Project, Roger Terry
BYU Studies
Between 1984 and 1986, the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) published a critical text of the Book of Mormon. While this early publication was useful in certain ways, it was also woefully inadequate. It was, for instance, based on a computerized text of the 1830 printed edition of the Book of Mormon rather than on the remnants of the two handwritten manuscripts.1 Recognizing its inadequacies, Brigham Young University linguistics professor Royal Skousen began in 1988 what would become a thirty-seven- year endeavor and his life’s work: a fully professional critical text of the Book of Mormon.2
