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Publications

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

FARMS Occasional Papers, Volume 4, edited by Jared Ludlow (BYU–Hawaii) and Larry E. Morris, contains articles by three BYU professors and focuses on the polemical use of water and storm language in the Deuteronomic History (Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings), justice and mercy in the book of Deuteronomy, and the garment of Joseph.

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

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Publications

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

Theodore Abū Qurrah, translated and introduced by John C. Lamoreaux of Southern Methodist University, includes first-ever English translations of a substantial portion of Theodore Abū Qurrah’s writings, which treat such issues as the characteristics of true religion and the nature of free will. Abū Qurrah (fl. ad 810), the bishop of Haran (in modern-day southern Turkey), was one of the first Christians to write in Arabic and to mount a sustained theological defense of Christianity against Islam. This book is now at press and will be distributed by the University of Chicago Press and made available through the BYU Bookstore.

Prophecy And Politics: Understanding The Impact Of Media Prophets In Local Pentecostal Churches, Tommy Dawain Blackwell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Social injustice issues incite both positive and negative responses within local Pentecostal congregants creating topical “cones of silence” pastors and church leaders must cautiously navigate. The focus of this treatise is the proper response of Evangelical Pentecostals toward social justice. The goal is to help Evangelical churches to nullify the emotional edginess and discuss important issues while maintaining a strong unity with diversity. Research, via personal interviews of Pentecostal congregants and first-hand observation by church leaders, will identify negative political theologies as the emotional and political influences driving division within local Pentecostal churches. As a result, church pastors will recognize …

Digital Dissemination Of Islam Among Dubai Expatriates, Uae: A Mixed Methods Study, Urwa Mohammed Tariq

CoHSS Faculty Work

Dubai is a metropolitan city that attracts many foreigners due to its growing economy and tourism. When many non-Muslims observe the Islamic culture and lifestyle, they become interested in learning more about the faith. This research focuses on non-Muslims and new Muslims in Dubai and how information about Islam is disseminated to them. It also examines the challenges they encounter when searching for information. Though the researcher employed a mixed-methods approach, this study highlights the quantitative analysis. A total of 541 survey responses were collected from expatriates residing in Dubai, UAE; their demographic profile was analysed, especially in relation to …

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

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Publications

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

Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri,edited by John Gee and Michael Rhodes, is a second edition of Hugh Nibley’s 1975 book of the same title on the Egyptian endowment. It is still the only book-length treatment of the important Egyptian text now known as the “Document of Breathings Made by Isis,” a copy of which was found among the Joseph Smith Papyri. The new edition features previously excised material, corrections of numerous typographical errors, improved illustrations, and accurate placement of illustrations in the text. This book, published jointly with Deseret Book, is now at press after years of intense effort. …

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

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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).

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

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Lehi’S Journey Of Faith Topic Of Farms Documentary

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

FARMS has teamed with award-winning Latter-day Saint filmmaker Peter Johnson to produce a documentary on Lehi and company’s route from Jerusalem to the New World.

Based on the most recent research, the 90-min-ute DVD documentary will feature Latter-day Saint scholars commenting on proposed sites for the party’s first base camp near the Red Sea; Nahom, where Ishmael was buried; and Bountiful, the fertile coast-al locale where Nephi directed the building of his ship. The documentary will also feature the latest findings on Lehi’s ocean voyage and explore candidates for Book of Mormon sites in Mesoamerica.

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

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Farms Review Probes Geography, Papyri, Isaiah, Creation, And More

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

The latest FARMS Review (vol. 16, no. 2, 2004) is another weighty issue flush with articles covering a wide array of interesting topics. In the lineup are reviews of works on Book of Mormon geography, de-Christianization of the Old Testament, the Joseph Smith Papyri, Isaiah’s central message, Jerusalem in Lehi’s day, creation theology, gospel symbolism, and the Christian countercult movement. Also included are two freestanding essays, one older article of lasting appeal (initiating a new feature in the Review), book notes, a 2003 Book of Mormon bibliography, and the editor’s top picks of recent publications. A foretaste of the many …

Latest Addition To The Collected Works Of Hugh Nibley Series

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

FARMS is pleased to announce the release of a new volume of previously unpublished class lectures by celebrated Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley, who recently passed away at age 94. Apostles and Bishops in Early Christianity, volume 15 in the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley series, comprises Nibley’s finely detailed lecture notes for a course he taught at Brigham Young University in 1954 on the office of bishop in the early Christian church.

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

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New Book Compiles Scholarship On Oliver Cowdery

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

In conjunction with the recent BYU symposium “Oliver Cowdery: Restoration Witness, Second Elder,” the Maxwell Institute has published Oliver Cowdery: Scribe, Elder, Witness, edited by John W. Welch and Larry E. Morris. This book includes 17 important articles previously published by BYU Studies or FARMS and covers virtually all periods of Oliver Cowdery’s life.

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

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Symposium Explores Widespread Tree Of Life Motif

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

Scholars from various disciplines and institutions gathered in Brigham Young University’s Varsity Theater on 28 and 29 September 2006 to explore the pervasive and powerful tree of life motif as found in civilizations spanning the Far and Middle East to Mesoamerica and as expressed in Latter-day Saint scripture and art. The following report highlights the two presentations by visiting non–Latter-day Saint scholars and briefly summarizes the others.

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

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Lehi’S Epic Journey Detailed In New Book

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

The seamless blend of scholarship and artistry of the Maxwell Institute’s DVD documentary Journey of Faith continues in expanded form in the new book Journey of Faith: From Jerusalem to the Promised Land. Complemented by numerous additional threads of historical detail and scholarly insight, this visually stunning look at Lehi’s trek through the harsh Arabian desert reflects a synergistic collaboration of talented scholars, artists, and photographers seeking to illuminate an epic event in scriptural history and situate it in a real-world setting.

Making The Case For Cultural Diffusion In Ancient Times

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

Old theories die hard in academia, at least when they are entrenched and have been defended intellectually with fervor. Only with overwhelming evidence to the contrary does the institutional status quo crumble and make way for new theories to find legitimacy within the academic mainstream. Illustrative of this struggle for acceptance in the academy has been the contest between the establishment position that ancient American civilization evolved in complete independence from the Old World and the “cultural diffusion hypothesis.” The latter proposes that American societies did not arise and develop in total isolation but were stimulated by connections from the …

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

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Maxwell Institute Open House

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

The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship invites you to an open house from 7:00 to 9:00 pm in room 3215 of BYU’s Wilkinson Center on Thursday, 24 August 2006, during Campus Education Week. This will be an occasion for you to meet authors, editors, directors, and friends and to celebrate the formation of this new BYU institute.

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

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Nibley Fellowship

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

Each year at this time we remind graduate students about the Nibley Fellowship Program and its application deadline. Named in honor of the late eminent Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley, this program provides financial aid to students enrolled in accredited PhD programs in areas of study directly related to the work and mission of the Maxwell Institute, particularly work done under the name of FARMS—studies of the Book of Mormon, the Book of Abraham, the Old and New Testaments, early Christianity, ancient temples, and related subjects. Applicants cannot be employed at the Institute or be related to an Institute employee.

“Look To God And Live”, Kristian S. Heal

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

Near the end of the children of Israel’s journey to the promised land following their miraculous escape from Egypt, they once again began to complain against the Lord and against Moses. As a result of this sin, the Lord sent “fiery serpents” among them (Numbers 21:6). Faced with physical death, the people went to Moses, confessed their sins, and entreated him to pray to the Lord to take the serpents away. However, the serpents were not taken away as requested. Instead, in what may have seemed an expression of deep irony—but was in reality a sacred symbol—Moses was instructed to …

Farms Review Answers Critics, Sizes Up Scholarship

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

At 500 pages, the new FARMS Review (vol. 17, no. 2) nearly bursts its binding with items of interest for anyone desiring to be well-informed on Mormon studies. The coverage ranges from Lehi’s encampments in Arabia and the resurgence of the all-but-dead Spalding theory to Jewish-Mormon relations, creation ex nihilo, and the Egyptian Hor Book of Breathings.

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

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Farms Unveils New Web Site

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

In December 2005 FARMS released a new version of its Web site. In response to feedback from people who have used the site over the last several years, the new FARMS site boasts additional content and enhanced features.

The Impact Of Virtual Technology On Discipleship Training In A Small Group Context, Austin Stephen Mansfield

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Many contemporary churches face the difficulty of implementing the Great Commission’s mandate for making disciples (Matt 28:19-20). Occasional church attendance and a lack of participation in fellowship and ministries beyond the Sunday worship service reflect this difficulty. Discipleship has become even more challenging in the current climate of social distancing that has resulted from COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Being separated physically from others exacerbates a growing predisposition to spiritual isolation, which in turn hinders development of discipleship; physical interaction has always been the main model for making disciples. The Great Commission’s description of discipleship (making disciples through going, baptizing, and teaching) …