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Now You See It, Now You Don't: Biblical Perspectives On The Relationship Between Magic And Religion, Shawna Dolansky, David A. Allred

BYU Studies

Defining terms is a foundational task in academic studies, and a clear example of its importance is in the ongoing debates on the relationship between magic and religion. Because of the various ways in which magic has been defined over time and because of the negative connotations that can accompany some definitions, explorations of magic and religion are rife with misunderstanding and ethnocentrism, most famously dating back to the milieu of cultural evolution that characterized nineteenth-century anthropology, especially in the works of Edward B. Taylor and James G. Frazer. However, questions about the relationship between magic and religion go back …

“Serious Reflection” For Religious Educators, Ryan S. Gardner, Michael K. Freeman

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

No abstract provided.

Ancient Israelite Sion Theology, Judeo-Christian Apocalypticism, And Biblical (Mis)Interpretation: Potential Implications For The Stability Of The Modern Middle East, Taylor Halverson

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Nephi As Scribe, Brant A. Gardner

Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011

Nephi was a younger son of a wealthy family. As one who might not inherit his father's business, it is possible that he was trained for another profession. One of the high-status professions open to him would have been a scribe. Beyond the fact that Nephi produced at least three written works (1 Nephi, 2 Nephi, and the nonextant large-plate book of Lehi), there are other evidences in his writing that betray the kind of traning scribes received. His early professional training may have been an important preparation for his later role in establishing his people as a true people …

"Levantine Thinking In Egypt" The Footprint Of Intellectual Influence, Kerry M. Muhlestein

Faculty Publications

Upon examination of material and textual remains, there is a great deal of evidence for more contact with the Levant than many have supposed. This contact took the form of both Eyptians in the Levant and Asiatics in Egypt. Futhermore, the Shipwrecked Sailor bears hallmarks of Levantine literature. This famous tale may thus say something significant about Egyptian/Levantine relations. It seems to attest to intellectual influence flowing into Egypt from the Levant.

Seeking For The Lost: A Papyrological Search For Luke Fifteen's Lost Economics, Erik Yingling

Student Works

This paper draws upon Egyptian documentary papyri in order to show more fully the quantitative purchasing power of items of economic significance in Luke 15. Specifically, the stories of the lost drachma, lost sheep, and prodigal son each mention economic items which—when compared with the papyrological data—can more fully elucidate areas of economic import which have not been looked at before. In doing so, the article builds upon, and supports, the framework of Roman economic "middling groups" as posited by Longenecker (2009). Furthermore, a close look at Luke 15 when compared with the Egyptian papyrological data suggests the possibility of …

A New Interpretation Of Luke's Prodigal Manager (Luke 16: 1-8a), Alan T. Farnes

Student Works

What has been called the parable of the Unjust Steward has been dubbed one of the most difficult passages in the entire New Testament. Indeed, John S. Kloppenborg has commented, “There is hardly a consensus on any single aspect of this parable.” Almost every commentary on the topic begins with a disclaimer that this parable is “notoriously difficult.” This parable has gained its notoriety due to its seemingly contradictory conclusion. The Prodigal Manager is slothful, does not collect all of his master’s money but rather gives it away, and in the end is a praised for his wisdom. Is the …

The Chicago Experiment: Finding The Voice And Charting The Course Of Religious Education In The Church, Casey P. Griffiths

BYU Studies

In many professions, Latter-day Saints often struggle to find harmony between their religion and their career. This has been especially true in academia, in most of its diverse disciplines. These challenges were particularly fierce when the Church began developing its own corps of professional religious educators to teach and lead in the newly founded seminary and institute programs of the early twentieth century. In the early 1930s, religious educators in the Church developed a close relationship with the School of Divinity at the University of Chicago. Eleven young Latter-day Saint scholars earned advanced degrees at the school at the Church's …

The First Institute Teacher, Casey Paul Griffiths

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

No abstract provided.

The Story Of Judah And Tamar, Ben Spackman

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

No abstract provided.

Book Notes, Farms Review

Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011

No abstract provided.

The Five Books Of Moses: A Translation With Commentary, Roger G. Baker, Robert Alter

BYU Studies

There are Bibles aplenty in our world, hundreds if Amazon.com is any guide. In late 2009, Amazon listed over one thousand books on its Bible hit list that have not even been released yet. Over one thousand new books of the roughly 450,000 listed Bible hits portend heavy reading this year for those who try to keep up with things biblical. A beneficial search in this swim through the Amazon of books is for new Bible translations, which now seem plentiful, although there were very few in the years after King James. An almost three-century gap separates the King James …

The Sermon At The Temple And The Sermon On The Mount: A Latter-Day Saint Approach, John W. Welch

Maxwell Institute Publications

The Sermon on the Mount has had greater influence on the history and character of Christianity than any other text in the Bible. Yet as biblical scholar Hans Dieter Betz has recently lamented, “New Testament scholarship up to the present has offered no satisfactory explanation of this vitally important text.”

The Sermon at the Temple and the Sermon on the Mount, by John W. Welch, offers, for the first time, a thorough Latter-day Saint interpretation of Jesus’ famous sermon. The author relies especially on crucial information and details that only the Book of Mormon can supply.

In New Testament Palestine, …

Sōma Sēma: The Influence Of “The Body Is A Tomb” In Early Christi An Debates And The New Testament, Gaye Strathearn

Faculty Publications

As we study the second half of the New Testament, it becomes evident very quickly that the early Church struggled with doctrinal drift. One of the central responsibilities of having a Church with apostles and prophets, we learn in Ephesians, is so “that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Ephesians 4:14). Therefore, most of Paul’s epistles were written to combat this doctrinal drift. But what happens when the people no longer listen to …

Egyptian Papyri And The Book Of Abraham: Some Questions And Answers, Kerry M. Muhlestein

Faculty Publications

In 1835 Joseph Smith began translating some ancient Egyptian papyri that he had obtained from an exhibitor passing through Kirtland, Ohio. He soon announced, “Much to our joy [we] found that one of the rolls contained the writings of Abraham.” While we do not know how much the Prophet translated, we do know that some of his translation was published in serial form and eventually canonized as the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price. For nearly one hundred years, it was thought that all these papyri had eventually made their way to the Wood Museum in Chicago, …

Editor's Notebook, Andrew H. Hedges

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

Summary of current issue.

Journal Of The Book Of Mormon And Other Restoration Scripture Volume 18 Issue 2, Neal A. Maxwell Institute For Religious Scholarship

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

The Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to promoting understanding of the history, meaning, and significance of the scriptures and other sacred texts revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Worthy Of Another Look: Classics From The Past: The Book Of Mormon, Historicity, & Faith, Robert L. Millet

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

A well-defined trend over the past two hundred years in secular biblical scholarship has been to sunder spiritual from historical, relegating events such as miracles and the resurrection to the category of “sacred stories.” This trend has also crept into some circles of LDS Book of Mormon scholarship, with adherents claiming an “expansionist” view of the Book of Mormon. They contend that the core of the text is historical but that so-called anachronisms in the text—references to the fall, atonement, resurrection, or new birth prior to the time of Christ—are due to Joseph Smith’s own interpolations. Because Book of Mormon …

Jesus And The Eyewitnesses: The Gospels As Eyewitness Testimony, Richard Bauckham, Thomas A. Wayment

BYU Studies

Undoubtedly, Professor Richard Bauckham's most recent contribution will add life to an already thriving scholarly discussion on the historical foundations of the New Testament Gospels, particularly the Synoptic Gospels--Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Like others who have contributed to this field of study, Bauckham (professor of New Testament studies at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland) sets out to describe the sources used by the authors of the canonical Gospels, and, in doing so, provides a viable theory that has been met by exuberant praise and will certainly encounter significant rebuttals. In his own words, he states:

It is the contention …

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A Latter-Day Saint Reception Of Temple Themes In Christian Worship, John W. Welch

Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011

Review of Margaret Barker. Temple Themes in Christian Worship.

Antecedents Of The Restoration In The Ancient Temple, Frederick M. Huchel

Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011

No abstract provided.

Vol. 21 Num. 1 The Farms Review, Farms Review

Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011

No abstract provided.

The Most Misunderstood Book: Christopher Hitchens On The Bible, William J. Hamblin

Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011

Review of Christopher Hitchens. God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.

Margaret Barker On The Importance Of The Ancient Temple In The Establishment Of Early Christian Worship And Liturgy, George L. Mitton

Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011

Reviews of Margaret Barker. Temple Themes in Chrstian Worship.

Point Our Souls To Christ: Lessons From Leviticus, Julie M. Smith

Studies in the Bible and Antiquity

In recent years, the study of Leviticus has been galvanized by anthropologist Mary Douglas. Douglas's central insight was that Leviticus relies on analogical thinking, which means that each part of the law cannot be understood on its own but only by comparing it with other parts of the law of Moses. This paper uses an analogical approach to Leviticus in order to explore what the law of Moses teaches about Jesus Christ. Details of the various offerings; laws regarding food, contact, and illness; and holy days are examined analogically in order to show what ancient prophets in the New and …

Ruth, Redemption, Covenant, And Christ, Kerry M. Muhlestein

Faculty Publications

The book of Ruth is one of the most loved stories of the Old Testament. Yet sometimes it remains just that: a story from which some readers gain little in the way of doctrine or application. We identify with the story because the principal actors are neither kings nor prophets but the average people of a typical village. There are neither mighty warriors nor great conflicts, but there are intense struggles for surviving life's difficulties and genuine battles with grief. We love the story because it is so well told, because it has characters we can identify with, because it …

Teaching Egyptian History: Some Discipline-Specific Pedagogical Notes, Kerry M. Muhlestein

Faculty Publications

This paper was originally given at the professional workshop In Search of Egypt's Past: Problems and Perspectives of the Historiography of Ancient Egypt; A North American workshop at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, inaugurating the Journal of Egyptian History, April 23-24, 2008, most of the remaining papers of which will appear in Fascicle 2 of this journal. While many Egyptologists teach Egyptian history, we often fail to carefully conceive of just what this means. Teaching history is more than conveying facts about a time period, it is also teaching how to analyze and (re)construct history. Our classes may often …

A Book Of Mormon Casebook, Kevin L. Barney

Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011

Review of John W. Welch. The Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon.

“And The Word Was Made Flesh”: A Latter-Day Saint Exegesis Of The Blood And Water Imagery In The Gospel Of John, Eric D. Huntsman

Studies in the Bible and Antiquity

Critical to understanding the widespread symbolism and imagery pointing to Jesus Christ in the New Testament is an exegetical grasp of the content--that is, an understanding of the historical, literary, and theological context of the language. The image of water recurs frequently throughout the New Testament Gospels as a symbol of the Savior's purity, cleansing power, true doctrine, and so forth. Similarly, blood is used often to reflect the sacred mission of Christ and the price of our salvation. This article investigates this imagery, particularly as used by Apostle John, to explain the significance of the Savior's mission in mortality …

Encircling Astronomy And The Egyptians: An Approach To Abraham 3, Kerry M. Muhlestein

Faculty Publications

Abraham 3 is one of the most enigmatic sections of the Pearl of Great Price. Teacher and student together sense there is something more to the text than the meaning they are drawing out of it. Each thorough exploration gently nudges another layer of understanding from the text, but we always feel we have unraveled only the smallest portion of what it has to offer. Though I do not pretend to have a great key to unlock this revelation, I believe there are some apperceptive principles that cast light on Abraham's night vision.