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“Behold, I Went To Hunt Beasts In The Forest”: An Addendum On Enos, Esau, And The Symbolic Geography Of Seir, Matthew L. Bowen

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

Enos’s use of the onomastic wordplay in the Jacob and Esau cycle enables him to meaningfully allude to the symbolic geography of those stories and incorporate it into his New World setting (e.g., allusions to the river Jabbok and Peniel/Penuel, the site of Jacob’s “wrestle” with the divine “man”). A third instance of this type of allusion occurs with Enos’s recollection that he “went to hunt beasts in the forest[s]” (Enos 1:3), which appears to subtly allude to Mount Seir, the forested hill country in the land of Edom inhabited by Esau and his descendants.

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 …

The Ever-Present Nature Of Christ In The Title Of Jehovah, Dan Belnap

Faculty Publications

In January 2000 the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bore testimony to the world of the reality, humanity, and divinity of Jesus Christ in a document titled “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles.” Among its many truths was the following: “He [Christ] was the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament.”1 Though this was not the first time Church leadership had declared Christ to be Jehovah, the pronouncement does reemphasize this teaching. It also emphasizes the centrality of Christ in the Old Testament. In fact, the …

Nurturing Religious Education Using Artificial Intelligence, Matt Gardner

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

This essay focuses on helping teachers, parents, and students understand and become familiar with artificial intelligence (AI)—specifically, its capabilities and how it will affect our homes and classrooms. In doing so, teachers, parents, students, and children will learn to use certain gospel-approved principles to most successfully use and operate these new technologies to bless the lives of God’s children.

Full Issue

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

No abstract provided.

Bedeviled Beauty: My Journey Through White American Theater Institutions, J'Aila C. Price

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Game console: Oculus Quest

World: American Theater Institutions

Player: Minority

Place: United States

Level: “Ain’t no way.”

This thesis explores the contrast between the Westernized philosophies ingrained in my education and my identity as a Black female artist. It sheds light on the difficulties of pursuing higher education in the arts and the gaps that arise from limited exposure to culturally diverse Black resources, revealing the systemic issues in Western performance education. The paper also discusses the insights gained from my journey as a Black female artist, focusing on my thesis performance of Blood at the Root, which is …

Book Of Mormon Grammar And Translation, Stanford Carmack

BYU Studies

This paper discusses some of the Book of Mormon’s nonstandard grammar, showing how in many cases it was not the kind of grammar that Joseph Smith would have been expected to produce, since it was neither his native usage nor a presumed biblically influenced English. In these contexts, if he had been in control of the wording of the text, it is highly likely that he would have expressed things differently. Quite a few examples are provided in support of this claim, along with additional matching examples found in early modern texts.

Full Issue

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

No abstract provided.

New Version Of Scripture Index Announced

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Last summer, a Scripture Index of F.A.R.M.S. Reprints and Preliminary Reports (CAM-87) was introduced. It lists every scripture by chapter and verse that is mentioned In F.A.R.M.S. materials. The Index is now available In a second format.

Bibliography Of Chiasmus Completed

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

John W. Welch, aided by Don Parry and DeeAnn Hofer, has compiled an extensive bibliography of scholarly books and articles dealing with the literary form of chiasmus. Listed are several hundred works from a broad range of sources, most scholarly. Collectively they demonstrate the widespread use of chiasmus in modern biblical studies. Anyone interested in thorough research into this distinctive form of parallel composition will find this bibliography indispensable.

A Service To Lds Gospel Doctrine Teachers And Students

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

The 1988 adult Sunday School curriculum will be the Book of Mormon. Free upon request are two lists of resources recommended as helpful background reading for the new curriculum.

Interest In Book Of Mormon Warfare Spurs Research

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Although It Is a prominent Book of Mormon theme, Nephite warfare has yet to be comprehensively examined. To promote such research, F.A.R.M.S. sponsored a working conference Aug. 21-22. Papers dealing with military technology, strategies, fortifications, rituals, and other Issues were presented and critiqued. Other topics were Identified. Two new papers on war and the Book of Mormon are now available; others will be forth-coming soon.

Collected Biographies Of Book Of Mormon Scholars Available

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

In 1986, the Ensign magazine Issued a series of articles about prominent LDS Book of Mormon scholars, Including B. H. Roberts, George Reynolds, Francis W. Kirkham, Sidney B. Sperry, and Hugh W. Nibley. These articles, which have been available separately, are now combined Into a single reprint, together with the final article In that series.

Lehi's Vision In 1 Nephi 1 Analyzed

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

The Book of Mormon begins with an account of the vision in which Lehi beheld God seated in the midst of a heavenly congregation. In this experience, Lehi learned of the judgments of God that were about to befall the arrogant and unrighteous city of Jerusalem. Comparing this vision of Lehi's with similar so-called Council Visions had by other prophets near the time of Lehi is the aim of a new paper.

More Perspectives On Benjamin's Speech

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Two more interesting insights into the complex nature of King Benjamin's speech have been noticed. First, in the June 1985 issue of the Journal of Biblical Literature, an article by William Kurz analyzes the twenty elements found in typical classical Greek, Roman and Biblical " farewell addresses." In such speeches, the person who is about to die summons successors, points to his own mission as an example, proclaims his innocence, discusses his impending death, gives exhortations, appoints a successor, etc. While many of these elements taken alone are unremarkable, the full pattern Kurz displays is interesting. It is apparent …

Full Issue

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Wednesday Book Of Mormon Seminars

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

The Wednesday Seminar is a faculty research seminar organized by Noel Reynolds (Political Science, BYU). It has met bi-weekly this year to hear discussions on current research related to the Book of Mormon.

Review Of Books On The Book Of Mormon

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Since publication of the last Newsletter, the first issue of the F.A.R.M.S. Review of Books on the Book of Mormon has been printed. It contains seventeen reviews of fourteen different books, most of which appeared during the years 1987-88. Some of the reviews are actually "review essays," since they represent important contributions to Book of Mormon studies in their own right.

Johannessen Visit

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Professor Carl Johannessen, professor of geography at the University of Oregon, lectured in March at BYU on his research on evidence for pre-Columbian maize in India and nearby areas. F.A.R.M.S. has provided support for his work. He presented BYU botanists and others with an impressive array of actual specimens, pictures of sculptured representations of cobs of corn on Indian temples, and linguistic and historical data.

Biblical Scholar Compares Moses And Joseph Smith

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

In "The Formation of the Canon of the Old Testament," in Religion and Law: Biblical, Judaic, and Islamic Perspectives, (edited by Edwin Firmage, Bernard Weiss, and John Welch and published in 1990 by Eisenbrauns), David Noel Freedman discusses the legacy of Moses and his Torah to the Western world. This legacy, he believes, is "the merger of law and religion, the inseparable joint expression of the divine will, communicated by his prophet. If true religion involves the right relationship between humanity and deity, then the law 1s the way in which that relationship is defined and regulated." Freedman concludes …

Full Issue

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Dead Sea Scroll Expert Gives Farms Lecture

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Emanual Tov, an eminent Dead Sea Scrolls scholar, delivered the seventh annual F.A.R.M.S. lecture on February 22 in the BYU Varsity Theater on "The Hebrew Bible in the Dead Sea Scrolls." Tov is Editor- in-Chief of the Dead Sea Scrolls Publication Project and a world-renowned expert on the Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls. A transcript and video of his presentation are available on the order form. Tov gave a similar lecture in Salt Lake City (both lectures were presented to overflow crowds).

What Does Recent Scholarship Really Say About The Book Of Mormon

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

A recently published collection of essays purports to examine the Book of Mormon using the latest scholarly tools and information. The authors of New Approaches to the Book of Mormon: Explorations in Critical Methodology assert that such scholarship shows the Book of Mormon is not of ancient origin, that it was written, not translated, by Joseph Smith in the nineteenth century and reflects that time and that time alone.

New Farms Book Shows Olive Tree Allegory Merits Honor And Attention

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

One of the most magnificent allegories in all of sacred literature, Zenos's allegory of the olive tree in Jacob 5, is the focus of a new collection of essays by LDS scholars: The Allegory of the Olive Tree: The Olive, the Bible, and Jacob 5. The result of more than ten years of research, culminating in the 1992 annual F.A.R.M.S. symposium, these twenty-one essays by twenty LDS scholars examine the allegory of the olive tree and related topics from many perspectives, including historical, botanical, symbolic, religious, linguistic, and theological. Stephen D. Ricks and John W. Welch, both professors at …

Revelation And The Urim And Thummim, Matthew Roper

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

In the past most biblical scholars viewed the Urim and Thummim as a rather mechanical device used merely to obtain a yes or no answer, similar to casting lots. This is quite different from the function of the device described in the Book of Mormon as "interpreters" and by the Prophet Joseph Smith as the "Urim and Thummim." In these descriptions of the use of the Urim and Thummim, revelation played a large role. For example, accounts of the translation of the Book of Mormon indicate that Joseph Smith could not translate without the Spirit and that a great deal …

Full Issue

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Farms Board Expands With Two New Members

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

M. Gerald Bradford, Director of Research for FARMS (who was highlighted in the June issue of Insights), and David Rolph Seely, assistant professor of Ancient Scripture at BYU, have joined the FARMS board of directors.

Journal Features Sperry's Book Of Mormon Scholarship

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

This year marks the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Sidney B. Sperry, an individual who did much ground-breaking work in the study of the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. In honor of that occasion, and to make Sperry's writing more available to a new generation of Book of Mormon students, the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies has devoted its Spring issue to printing some of his essays that are out of print, hard to find, or never before published.

Upon The Tower Of Benjamin, John W. Welch, Terry L. Szink

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

When King Benjamin crowned his son Mosiah, all the people in Zarahemla sat in tents around the temple while Benjamin addressed them. Because he "could not teach them all within the walls of the temple, therefore he caused a tower to be erected, that thereby his people might hear the words which he should speak unto them" (Mosiah 2:7). Was the need to improve the acoustics the only reason for the construction of this tower? Recent research has discovered ancient precedents for the use of such "towers" in royal convocations and coronation ceremonies. These biblical and Jewish precedents are not …

Brown Bags Report Preliminary Research Findings

Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

The first three presentations of 1995 at the FARMS brown bag seminar (held every other week at BYU) reported on research in progress on topics as diverse as errors in the transmission of the biblical text of Samuel, the Egyptian roots for Hebrew religious terminology, and a hierarchy of settlements in the Book of Mormon.