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Every Needful Thing: Essays On The Life Of The Mind And The Heart, Edited By Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye And Kate Holbrook, Susan Elizabeth Howe

BYU Studies Quarterly

This important collection of essays is the result of the inspiration and insight of two generous and faithful scholars, Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye and Kate Holbrook. Melissa has an appointment as a senior lecturer at the University of Auckland and is a historian for the Church History Department. Kate, who passed away in 2022, was also a historian, who worked on such important books as The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History and At the Pulpit: 185 Years of Discourses by Latter-day Saint Women. Together, Melissa and Kate have sought out essays “on …

It Takes Two, Jenet Jacob Erickson

BYU Studies Quarterly

In 2006, Canadian fathering scholar Andrea Doucet shared an illuminating moment from her extensive research with single dads. After a long evening discussing these fathers’ experiences, Doucet asked, “In an ideal world, what resources or supports would you like to see for single fathers?” She expected to hear that they wanted greater social support and societal acceptance, more programs and policies directed at single dads. Instead, after a period of awkward silence, one dad stood and said, “An ideal world would be one with a father and a mother. We’d be lying if we pretended that wasn’t true.” Nods of …

Charity As An Exegetical Principle In The Book Of Mormon, Matthew Scott Stenson

BYU Studies Quarterly

The eclectic Book of Mormon effectively collapses intellectual and sacred history. Anachronisms have drawn and do currently draw the attention of some Book of Mormon students and researchers. Nicholas J. Frederick, for instance, has written extensively on the presence of New Testament language in the largely pre–Christian Era record. Not all anachronisms are so extensive and involved as those Frederick traces. Some are minor and comparatively unimportant. However, there is a significant and pervasive conceptual anachronism that deserves critical attention. I speak of the primary narrators of the Book of Mormon using faith, hope, and charity (or love) as textual …

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BYU Studies Quarterly

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Perspectives On Latter-Day Saint Names And Naming: Names, Identity, And Belief, Edited By Dallin D. Oaks, Paul Baltes, And Kent Minson, Matthew B. Christensen

BYU Studies Quarterly

Perspectives on Latter-day Saint Names and Naming: Names, Identity, and Belief, edited by Dallin D. Oaks, Paul Baites, and Kent Minson, is an exploration of the significance and practices surrounding names within the context of the faith and culture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

How Did Joseph Smith Translate The Book Of Abraham, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies Quarterly

Multiple sources associated with the coming forth of the Book of Abraham spoke of Joseph Smith “translating” the text from the papyri he acquired. The Prophet himself used this language to describe his own activity with the text. For example, an entry in his journal under the date November 19, 1835, indicates the Prophet “spent the day in translating” the Egyptian records. In an unpublished editorial that was apparently meant to be printed in the March 1, 1842, issue of the Times and Seasons (the issue that saw the publication of the first installment of the Book of Abraham), Joseph …

Abrahamic Astronomy, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies Quarterly

The Book of Abraham is noteworthy for its description of what is sometimes called “Abrahamic astronomy.” Chapter 3 of the Book of Abraham, along with Facsimile 2, contains this astronomical portrait, which is not always easy to understand. Scholars looking at the text in chapter 3 have articulated at least three different models for interpreting this feature.

Kolob, The Governing One, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies Quarterly

One of the more memorable contributions of the Book of Abraham is its depiction of Kolob (Abr. 3:3–4, 9, 16; Facsimile 2, fig. 1). According to the Book of Abraham, Kolob is characterized by the following.

Abrahamic Legends And Lore, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies Quarterly

As a central figure in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, there are many extrabiblical traditions about the life of the patriarch Abraham. These sources are important to study because they may contain distant memories of real events in Abraham’s life. It is also interesting to compare the Book of Abraham with these sources because the Book of Abraham might help us understand these extrabiblical sources better and vice versa.

The Ancient Egyptian View Of Abraham, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies Quarterly

Some might ask how likely it would have been for the ancient Egyptians to have known anything about the biblical figure Abraham. In fact, evidence survives today indicating that stories about Abraham were known to the ancient Egyptians as early as the time of the composition of the Joseph Smith Papyri (ca. 330–30 BC).

The Ancient Owners Of The Joseph Smith Papyri, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies Quarterly

Thanks to the work of Egyptologists over the past decades, in addition to knowing what texts the extant Egyptian papyri acquired by Joseph Smith in 1835 contain, we also know quite a bit about the ancient owners of the papyri. Because Joseph Smith incorporated Facsimiles 1 and 3 of the Book of Abraham from vignettes or illustrations contained on a papyrus now designated P. Joseph Smith I, XI–X, the identity of the ancient owner of this papyrus may prove especially interesting. “From the names, titles, and genealogies written on the Joseph Smith Papyri, we know” the owner of this papyrus …

One Day To A Cubit, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies Quarterly

One of the more puzzling comments in the Book of Abraham comes from the explanation given in figure 1 of Facsimile 2, which speaks of “the measurement according to celestial time [of Kolob], which celestial time signifies one day to a cubit.” Latter-day Saint commentators on this passage have largely been at a loss to explain what this might mean. (A cubit, after all, is a unit for measuring length, not time.) Others have attempted to make sense of this by suggesting that “as one of Kolob’s days is a unit of celestial time, so the cubit is the unit …

Abraham And Osiris, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies Quarterly

Figure 1 of Facsimile 3 of the book of Abraham was interpreted by Joseph Smith as “Abraham sitting upon Pharaoh’s throne, by the politeness of the king, with a crown upon his head, representing the Priesthood, as emblematical of the grand Presidency in Heaven; with the scepter of justice and judgment in his hand.” This interpretation has clashed with those offered by Egyptologists, who have instead identified the figure as the god Osiris. What’s more, two Egyptologists have claimed to arrive at this interpretation from reading the hieroglyphs to the right of figure 1.

Appendix, Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, John S. Thompson

BYU Studies Quarterly

The following bibliography on the Book of Abraham has been modified and expanded from that found at www.pearlofgreatprice cen tral .org. The purpose of this bibliography is to assemble a variety of works on the Book of Abraham written primarily by or for Latter-day Saints. This bibliography is not exhaustive and does not include more specialized academic literature. Instead, it has been curated with the intent of highlighting works that are more readily accessible to average Latter-day Saint readers. Most of these items can be accessed online by following the hyperlinks collected at Pearl of Great Price Central for the …

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BYU Studies Quarterly

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BYU Studies Quarterly

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Inequality And Narrative In The Book Of Mormon, Robert F. Schwartz

BYU Studies Quarterly

speak unto you as if ye were present,” writes Moroni, “and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing” (Morm. 8:35). Eyewitnesses to the end of their civilization, Moroni and his father, Mormon, address us, their modern readers, from the perspective of exiled visionaries. Like twentieth-century exiles Hannah Arendt or Czesław Miłosz, these editors and part-authors of the Book of Mormon write as refugees from a society in utter, violent collapse, left to piece together a narrative of how things came to such a bitter end and what the future …

“To Moderate And Unify” The Role That Latter-Day Saint Citizen-Rhetors Can Play In Healing American Political Discourse, Kristine Hansen

BYU Studies Quarterly

In the April 1997 general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, then-Elder Henry B. Eyring stated, “When the words of prophets seem repetitive, that should rivet our attention.” Repetition, he asserted, means the Lord’s servants are “warning the people, telling them the way to safety.” In both the October 2020 and the April 2021 general conferences, President Dallin H. Oaks stressed the importance of the rule of law and the best ways to participate as citizens in political processes. Although he focused on the United States, President Oaks reassured his global audience that the principles he …

The Saints And The State: The Mormon Troubles In Illinois, James Simeone, Brent M. Rogers, Reviewer

BYU Studies Quarterly

The history of the Latter-day Saint experience in Nauvoo, Illinois, still has a great deal to teach us. It is not just the simplistic story of religious persecution and expulsion that is often rehearsed. In seven dense chapters, James Simeone, professor of political science at Illinois Wesleyan University, unveils a complex political milieu to explain the tension that led to the 1846 departure of the Saints from Illinois—and ultimately the United States. Relying on political theory and philosophy and his deep knowledge of politics in frontier Illinois, Simeone unpacks the paradox of a developing democracy, which he defines as the …

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BYU Studies Quarterly

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Religion And Sexual Orientation As Predictors Of Utah Youth Suicidality, W. Justin Dyer, Michael A. Goodman, David S. Wood

BYU Studies Quarterly

Adolescent suicide rates have increased substantially over the last two decades; suicide has become the second leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults since 2017. Some areas in the U.S. have experienced particularly large rises in suicide. For example, according to the Utah Department of Health, there was a 136.2 percent increase in suicides among Utah youth age 10–17 from 2011 to 2015, compared to an increase of 24 percent nationally.

Prophets, Pagans, And Papyri, Stephen O. Smoot, Kerry Muhlestein

BYU Studies Quarterly

Egypt has a long history of exchange and contact with a variety of people. Ancient people of diverse ethnic backgrounds made their way into Egypt—whether as war captives, mercenaries, merchants, invading armies, members of diplomatic parties, refugees, or simple migrants—bringing with them their language and culture. One such group was the ancient Jews, whose enslavement at the hands of “a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph” (Ex. 1:8), and exodus under the prophetic leadership of Moses may be the best-remembered incident of a Hebrew presence in Egypt, but it was not the only one.

End Matter

BYU Studies Quarterly

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Constancy Amid Change, Michael Goodman, Daniel Frost

BYU Studies Quarterly

Few issues are more sensitive and in need of serious study than gender and sexuality. Taylor Petrey’s book, Tabernacles of Clay: Sexuality and Sexual Difference in Modern Mormonism, contributes much to that study. The book provides a nuanced view of Church leaders’ attempts to understand and teach the nature of gender and sexuality. Petrey shows that Latter-day Saint discourse on these issues has changed substantially, especially since World War II. Petrey has gathered a trove of material for scholars and others who seek to better understand how culture, tradition, and theology have shaped teachings about gender and sexuality. Though …

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BYU Studies Quarterly

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BYU Studies Quarterly

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Editors' Introduction, Sharlee Mullins Glenn, Kristine Haglund, Linda Hoffman Kimball, Susan Elizabeth Howe

BYU Studies Quarterly

It would be nice if Isaiah had enumerated the law into a statutory code, or if Enoch had left some city council minutes behind. While Restoration scriptures give tantalizing hints of societies that have achieved

the kind of harmony God intends, the descriptions are thin and short on practical details. Even the Doctrine and Covenants, which mentions Zion even more often than the Old Testament and has precise directions about many aspects of organizing the Saints in the earliest days of the Church, doesn’t easily translate into a roadmap for governance or citizenship in the many countries where Latter-day Saints—in …

Front Matter

BYU Studies Quarterly

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Pursuing Mosiah’S And Madison’S Commonsense Principle In Today’S Divided Politics, Keith Allred

BYU Studies Quarterly

It is hard not to despair over the dysfunction in American politics today. The chaos created by the partisan rancor is continually before us. Angry tweets, bitter protests, and personal attacks are increasingly the norm, while civil discourse about sound policy is rare. No republic ever effectively managed its challenges this way.