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

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Warfare Research Group Organized

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

A research group working on warfare in the Book of Mormon has been formed. Anyone interested in any aspect of warfare in the Bible, the ancient Near East, Mesoamerica, or Book of Mormon is invited to contact Stephen Ricks, 4076 JKHB, BYU, (801) 378-5428, or 378-3295, or Bill Hamblin, 802 Pineview Dr., Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39401 .

Wednesday Seminar

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

Beginning in February, an informal working seminar will meet at BYU every second and fourth Wednesday, at 12:00 noon, in 919 SWKT, for lunch and to discuss Book of Mormon research in progress. Interested people are welcome to contact Noel Reynolds, 764 SWKT, BYU, (801) 378-2391, for further information .

Hofmann Admits Forgery

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

F.A.R.M.S. members outside of Utah may be unaware of new developments regarding Mark Hofmann, who has recently pleaded guilty to reduced murder and fraud charges and has been sentenced to prison. Part of the plea bargaining included Hofmann's agreement to tell all about his forging of documents purporting to related to LDS Church and colonial U.S. history. Hofmann has admitted that the "Salamander Letter" was a hoax, and indications are that all major documents he "found" during the past nine years may prove to have been extremely clever and insidious frauds. The sadness of this situation is inexpressible. We extend …

Advisory Board

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

The F.A.R.M.S. Advisory Board has recently been expanded and more specifically organized. John Sorenson has become the Chairman of the Board. Three standing committees have been formed and are now operational. They are the Research Committee (Stephen Ricks, chai r; with William Evenson, Noel Reynolds, Chauncey Riddle, and Robert K. Thomas); the Evaluation Committee (John Sorenson, chair; with Bill Hess, Kirk Magleby, Harold Miller, Douglas Phillips, and Jay Todd); and the Production Committee (Jack Welch, chair; with Merrill Bateman, Robert Driggs, and Charles Tate). All these people serve as volunteers. Their time, efforts, and wisdom are greatly appreciated in steering …

Forms Of Nephite Laws Considered

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

Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical laws were written according to certain stylistic conventions. Two such formal aspects of ancient law have recently been used to sharpen our understanding of Nephite law as well. In "Series of Laws in the Book of Mormon," John W. Welch examines ten significantly consistent law lists from which one can reconstruct a fairly clear picture of the underlying Nephite law code and its relationship to the Code of the Covenant in Exodus 20-23.

Why Did Nephi Write 1 Nephi?

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

Nephi's primary stated purpose for writing the book of 1 Nephi was "to persuade men to come unto God" (1 Ne. 6:4). In addition, his writings served several other unstated purposes, as Noel B. Reynolds demonstrates in "The Political Dimensions of Nephi 's Small Plates." Nephi was the fourth son in his family, and, as such, he was not entitled to the rights of leadership and ownership belonging to the eldest son.

Nibley On Change, Utopians, And Sacred Vestments

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

Three new papers are added at this time to our Nibley Archive. The first, a speech entitled "Change Out of Control," is about the inevitable and constant role of change in the history of mankind and in the progress of the individual soul." The Gospel invites us to move toward the unknown," especially through "individual freedom to repent and go the other way."

Warfare In The Book Of Mormon

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

Matthew Hilton's lengthy study, "Preliminary Summary of Nephite Armed Conflict in the Book of Mormon," outlines and abstracts virtually every event and passage-and then some-dealing in any way with warfare. The paper is chronologically arranged and is designed strictly as a reference tool.

Study Of Hebrew Poetry Expands

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

Angela Crowell has published a multifaceted study of Hebrew poetry in the Book of Mormon, now available as reprint CRW-86. It originally appeared in the Zarahemla Record. This article gives scores of examples illustrating dozens of stylistic patterns and devices known to Bible scholars and also occurring in the Book of Mormon. This contribution not only deepens our reading and appreciation of the scripture, it also demonstrates the frequent subtlety and great complexity of the record.

Updates For 1986--Full Of Ideas And Information

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

Each month the Foundation prepares an Update describing a new item of ongoing research. These Updates are concise statements of interesting developments, aimed at the general reader. Like executive business reports, they are factual and documented, but straightforward and practical. They are mailed each month to active researchers, contributors, and volunteers.

Full Issue

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

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Farms Names President

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

The Foundation has named Stephen D. Ricks as its new president. Ricks, a professor of Asian and Near Eastern Languages at BYU, received a doctorate in Near Eastern Religions from the University of California at Berkeley. He recently came from Jerusalem, where he spent a year teaching and researching at BYU's Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies.

Progress Report On Membership Drive

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

At the beginning of 1988 we set a goal to raise the F.A.R.M.S. membership list to 20,000 this year. At that time our list stood at 9,500. We are pleased to announce that currently we are at 16,100.

Since Cumorah

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

"Since its first printing in 1967, Since Cumorah has been a classic in Book of Mormon scholarship, and its significance has not decreased with the years," says John W. Welch. "We are pleased to offer this expanded volume to a new generation of Book of Mormon students. This long popular book examines the Book of Mormon in light of the discoveries at Qumran, Nag-Hammadi, and throughout the ancient world. It's Nibley at his best, challenging many traditional scholarly assumptions and opening avenues of inquiry regarding the Book of Mormon and its present-day implications."

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.

Farms Tours

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

The F.A.R.M.S. June 1984 Tour to Guatemala and Southern Mexico was the finest Book of Mormon travel experience offered that year. The 1985 tour, departing June 17, for 16 days, will be even better. This unique tour focuses on those sites most likely occupied by Book of Mormon people. The itinerary is spectacular.

New Reprints And Preliminary Reports

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

With each Newsletter, several new papers become available to you. We think you will find several of these very interesting. Each can be ordered on the attached order form.

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.

Farms Copyright Policy

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

F.A.R.M.S. materials may be freely used for non-pecuniary or non-publishing purposes. Pages from any preliminary report, Update or newsletter may be reproduced and used, without alteration, addition, or deletion, for any non-pecuniary or non-publishing purpose, without further permission.

Short Notice Recent Research

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

In October 1983, the F.A.R.M.S. Newsletter reported the way in which the gates of Shalmaneser Ill (858-824 B.C.), pictured in Yigael Yadin's The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands 2:399, attests to the practice of cutting off the arms, hands, feet, or other body parts of vanquished enemies. This ancient military practice seems related to Alma 17:39, where Ammon cuts off the arms of those thieves who tried to steal the king's livestock and the shepherds take the arms to the king as a testimony of what has been done. In a recent conversation, John Lundquist, at the New York …

Devotions For Advent 2023 Return & Rebuild The Temple Of God An Advent & Christmastide Devotional, Avery Hjulberg, Patrick W. Randolph, Aaron Coggins, Abby Reynolds, Julie Baumann, Brenna Mcguire, Brian Frank, Nathan Bublitz, Danniel Christensen, Cody Macmillin, Dan Hollister, David Scarborough, Henry Eising, Ezekiel Grabau, Gavin Johnson, Lydia Grabau, Haley Randolph, Harvey Peters, Tim Hendrick, Peyton Holland, Hunter Kinnison, Jackson Scofield, Josiah Coblentz, Kevin Mcgladdery, Kyle Bliss, Luke Otten, Josh Marlatt, Lara Mccormack, Kyle Moellenhoff, Morgan Phillips, Isaiah Mudge, Luke Onken, Vincent Otto, Dillon Weber, Wesley Deiss, William Ebel

Other Student Publications

Greetings in the name of Christ! Across two seminaries, across several states, and across this Advent and Christmastide, we have gathered devotions from several students- both at CTSFW and CSL- to guide us in our consideration of this season. As new theologians and workers in the Church, we have a chance to encourage our brothers and sisters and stir each other up to look to Christ. So who is this Christ? He is the culmination of the entire Scriptures, and so we find Him everywhere.

The books of Ezra and Haggai are center stage in the Advent portion: God provides …

What The Book Of First Enoch And The Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls Reveal About The History Of The Qumran Community, Kenneth Atkinson

Faculty Publications

The Aramaic book commonly known as First Enoch is among the most important of all the compositions found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The fragments of this pseudepigraphal work and related documents provide new information about the use and growth of the Enochic traditions, as well as how their contents influenced the community that collected and placed the Dead Sea Scrolls in the caves in the vicinity of Khirbet Qumran. Research on the Enochic literature in this corpus of documents is important for Jewish studies and for understanding the history of Christianity since the New Testament cites from and alludes …

Full Issue

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

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Book Reviewed

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

John Hilton has submitted a review of the stylometric or word-print studies of Ernest Taves. While word-print studies may eventually tell us a great deal about various word-placement habits in the texts of the Book of Mormon and the writings of Joseph Smith, the efforts of Taves are flawed in several ways. Hilton and his colleagues have been working for several years on what they hope will be a more-definitive computer analysis of Book of Mormon texts. Hilton's review may be ordered now, while the larger study is still in preparation.

Critical Text Volume Ii Completed

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

Volume II of the Book of Mormon Critical Text: A Tool for Scholarly Reference has just been completed. At almost 550 pages, it is the result of thousands of hours of painstaking comparison of the various manuscripts and editions of the Book of Mormon; it organizes thousands of Biblical and other textual parallels. Not for the casual reader, this monumental three-volume work shows each noteworthy change that has ever occurred in the Book of Mormon through all its major editions.

President's Message

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

1985 has been an eventful and successful year for the work of the Foundation. Your support and interest has made most of it possible. In addition to completing several books and papers in 1985, we have greatly enhanced our office staff and equipment; our 1985 Catalog has proved very valuable; funding has been generous, and major news coverage has accelerated. For 1986 we look forward to projects now underway with the Nibley Collected Works, warfare, temples, legal texts, King Benjamin's Speech, and many others.

Nibley Works Volume 1 Published

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

The first volume of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley is now available. Old Testament and Related Studies gathers together eleven Nibley articles and talks, several of which are published here for the first time. The first four address problems raised by opponents of the Bible-claims against the historicity of the creation account and early narratives in Genesis, and the skeptical views of existentialist theologians, textual critics, and evolutionists. Three other papers deal with the creation itself, with innuendos regarding rituals based on creation account narratives. Other essays are about Isaiah and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Full Issue

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

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The Use Of Chiasmus By The Ancient Quiche-Maya

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

Allen J. Christenson shows for the first time in professional literature that chiasmus was known in pre-Columbian America. His article, which includes part of the material in CHR-88, appeared in Latin American Indian Literatures Journal 4/2 (1988): 125-50.