Digital Commons Network^™

Is Decrypting The Genetic Legacy Of America’S Indigenous Populations Key To The Historicity Of The Book Of Mormon?, Ugo A. Perego, Jayne E. Ekins

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

The Book of Mormon claims to be an ancient record containing a summary of a now-disappeared civilization that once lived in the American continent but originated in the Middle East. DNA studies focusing on the ancient migration of world populations support a North-East Asian origin of modern Native American populations arriving through the now-submerged land bridge that once connected Siberia to Alaska during the last Ice Age, approximately 15,000 years ago. The apparent discrepancy between the Book of Mormon narrative and the published genetic data must be addressed in lieu of generally accepted population genetic principles that are efficient in …

Visions Of Faith: Early Church Pioneers In Ghana, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D., Jeanmarie Stewart

Faculty Publications

This chapter (from the 2014 book “An Eye of Faith,” a festschrift for Dr. Richard O. Cowan, published by the Brigham Young University Religious Studies Center) shares the story of the establish of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the nation of Ghana. This essay shares numerous individual stories and is divided into “Before Official Declaration 2” and “After Official Declaration 2” sections.

"Saving Christianity": The Nephite Fulfillment Of Jesus's Eschatological Prophecies, Heather Hardy

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

No abstract provided.

Under The Cape Of Religion: Herder And Shamanism In The Eighteenth Century, Vera Jakoby

Religion in the Age of Enlightenment

I f one were to undertake a genealogy of how Western Europe established a concept of otherness, the eighteenth century would be one of the most rewarding "information hubs" for such a study. Ethnography, ethnology, anthropology, and other new knowledge fields exploring global populations and environs were founded in this century, analyzing and systematizing the waves of travel reports that had been flooding Europe since the time of Columbus and Vasco da Gama. Stories and images of paradisiacal and terrorizing spaces, peculiar humans, and wondrous animals and plants had taken root in the Western imagination beginning in the sixteenth century. …

On A Dawning Era For The Book Of Mormon, Joseph M. Spencer

Mormon Studies Review

No abstract provided.

Revelation, Reason, And Faith: Essays In Honor Of Truman G. Madsen, Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, Stephen D. Ricks

Maxwell Institute Publications

The distinguished career of Truman G. Madsen has earned him wide respect in and outside of LDS circles as an outstanding teacher, scholar, researcher, speaker, university administrator, church leader, and religious ambassador. With the publication of Revelation, Reason, and Faith: Essays in Honor of Truman G. Madsen, the Institute pays tribute to this remarkable man whose many accomplishments include helping to advance Book of Mormon scholarship and related interests of the Institute.

Edited by Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and Stephen D. Ricks (each of whom also author a chapter), the 800-plus-page volume contains contributions by 31 scholars, …

Sorting Out The Sources In Scripture, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw

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

To date, LDS scholars have largely ignored the important but rather complex questions about how primary sources may have been authored and combined to form the Bible as we have it today. David Bokovoy’s book, one of a projected series of volumes on the authorship of the Old Testament, is intended to rectify this deficiency, bringing the results of scholarship in Higher Criticism into greater visibility within the LDS community. Though readers may not agree in every respect with the book’s analysis and results, particularly with its characterization of the Books of Moses and Abraham as “inspired pseudepigrapha,” Bokovoy has …

A Nickname And A Slam Dunk: Notes On The Book Of Mormon Names Zeezrom And Jershon, Stephen D. Ricks

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

Nicknames and Dysphemisms in the Bible and Ancient Mediterranean Even in the Bible, nicknames and dysphemisms— expressions whose connotations may be offensive to the hearer—are not rare and were equally so in other parts of the ancient and early medieval world. In 1 Samuel the ungenerous husband of Abigail rudely refused hospitality to the men of David, greatly angering them. David and his men were so incensed at his offense against the laws of hospitality that they intended to punish him for his boorish behavior before they were dissuaded from their plan by Abigail (1 Samuel 25:1-35). Shortly thereafter the …

Gender Distribution Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints Worldwide, Ray M. Merrill, Arielle A. Sloan, J. Grant Merrill

BYU Studies

Analyzing disparities in LDS membership numbers between men and women, especially by age group and geographical location, produces a deeper understanding of Church growth, conversion, and member retention. While more females are on the records of the Church than men, the Church gender ratio is nearly even during the ages 15 to 24. Church records show a greater ratio of males to females in old age than the general world gender ratio. LDS gender ratios also vary widely by UN world region, which shows that cultural factors may impact the segments of the population that are most interested in participating …

Theological Apostasy And The Role Of Canonical Scripture: A Thematic Analysis Of 1 Nephi 13-14, Paul Owen

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

No abstract provided.

Untangling Alma 13:3, Kimberly M. Berkey

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

No abstract provided.

Christ And Krishna: The Visions Of Arjuna And The Brother Of Jared, Joseph M. Spencer

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

No abstract provided.

Journal Of The Book Of Mormon And Other Restoration Scripture Volume 23, Neal A. Maxwell Institute For Religious Scholarship

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

No abstract provided.

The Temple According To 1 Enoch, George W.E. Nickelsburg

BYU Studies

During the Second Temple period (516 BCE to 70 CE), most Jews in Jerusalem worshipped at the Jerusalem temple. But a separate community at Qumran decried the lack of ritual purity in the activity at the Second Temple and saw their community as an ersatz for the temple. Literature at Qumran included 1 Enoch, a collection of five tractates composed in the Aramaic language between the fourth century BCE and the turn of the era and ascribed to the ancient patriarch Enoch, the head of the seventh generation after creation (Gen. 5:18–24). Some of the tractates are concerned about a …

A Plea For Narrative Theology: Living In And By Stories, Louis C. Midgley

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

The following are reflections on some of the complicated history, including the abuses, of what is commonly known as theology. The Saints do not “do theology.” Even when we are tempted, we do not reduce the contents or grounds of faith to something conforming to traditional theology. Instead, we tell stories of how and why we came to faith, which are then linked to a network of other stories found in our scriptures, and to a master narrative. We live in and by stories and not by either dogmatic or philosophically grounded systematic theology. Instead, we tend to engage in …

Getting Into The Meat Of The Word Of Wisdom, A. Jane Birch

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

In verse 13 of the Word of Wisdom, the Lord tells us, “it is pleasing unto me that they [flesh of beasts and fowls of the air] should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine” (D&C 89:13). Judging from the variety of interpretations this single verse has inspired, it would appear to be deeply enigmatic. Interestingly, most interpretations have been put forward with little supporting evidence. This article is the first comprehensive analysis of the diverse explanations for D&C 89:13 that have been suggested since 1833. In this article, I attempt to analyze these …

The Ten Lost Tribes: A World History, Zvi Ben-Dor Benite, Jeffrey R. Chadwick

BYU Studies

The Ten Lost Tribes: A World History is an ambitious treatment by Zvi Ben-Dor Benite, an associate professor of history and Middle Eastern and Islamic studies at New York University. The subject is a departure from the focus of his book The Dao of Muhammad: A Cultural History of Muslims in Late China, but the story of the Ten Lost Tribes is intriguing, and the assembled tales of how people throughout the world and throughout history have related to the loss of the Israelite tribes make for a fascinating read. The reader should be aware that The Ten Lost Tribes …

The Lds Story Of Enoch As The Culminating Episode Of A Temple Text, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw

BYU Studies

The story of Enoch might be understood as the culminating episode in a temple text cycle woven through the Book of Moses in the LDS Pearl of Great Price. A "temple text" is a sacred text that uses ceremony and commandments to allow a person to stand ritually in the presence of God. The Book of Moses reflects elements of temple architecture, furnishings, and ritual in the story of the Creation and the Fall. Like other scripture-based temple texts, the general structure of the second half of the Book of Moses follows a pattern exemplifying faithfulness and unfaithfulness to a …

The Byu New Testament Commentary: "It Doth Not Yet Appear What It Shall Be", Philip L. Barlow

Studies in the Bible and Antiquity

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

Religion in the Age of Enlightenment

No abstract provided.

Literacy And Orality In The Book Of Mormon, Brant A. Gardner

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

The Book of Mormon is a literate product of a literate culture. It references written texts. Nevertheless, behind the obvious literacy, there are clues to a primary orality in Nephite culture. The instances of text creation and most instances of reading texts suggest that documents were written by and for an elite class who were able to read and write. Even among the elite, reading and writing are best seen as a secondary method of communication to be called upon to archive information, to communicate with future readers (who would have been assumed to be elite and therefore able to …

Teaching With The 2013 Edition Of The Doctrine And Covenants, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D., Gerrit J. Dirkmaat

Faculty Publications

An overview of many insights to numerous sections in the Doctrine and Covenants made by the Joseph Smith Paper Project. A discussion of how to incorporate this updated information while teaching Latter-day Saints (Mormons).

Rearing Children In Love And Righteousness: Latitude, Limits, And Love, Craig H. Hart

Faculty Publications

The First Presidency (1999) counsels parents to “devote their best efforts to the teaching and rearing of their children in gospel principles which will keep them close to the Church,” and further states that “no other instrumentality can take [the home’s] place or fulfill its essential functions in carrying forward this God-given responsibility.” The proclamation on the family supports parents in magnifying their divinely designed responsibilities in the Father’s great plan of happiness (see Alma 42:8) by specifically identifying the principles that ultimately will make the most difference in their efforts.

The Fifth Principle Of The Gospel, Noel B. Reynolds

Faculty Publications

With the 2004 publication of Preach My Gospel as the new handbook for LDS missionaries, the official explanation of Christ’s gospel incorporated a previously unrecognized fifth principle—enduring to the end. This article will review ways in which this principle surfaced occasionally in early Mormon missionary work and writings. It will also demonstrate that the principle is explicitly and consistently emphasized in Book of Mormon presentations of the gospel in passages that are now generally recognized as authoritative foundations for LDS gospel teaching.

Prophets Rendering Christlike Service: Looking To Peter As An Example, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

This chapter (from the 2014 book “An Eye of Faith,” a festschrift for Dr. Richard O. Cowan, published by the Brigham Young University Religious Studies Center) shares examples of prophetic service from Peter the Apostle to each of the prophets of the Restoration—from Joseph Smith, Jr. to Thomas S. Monson. Many of the stories included about modern prophets are not widely known.

Peter And Paul In Antioch, Gaye Strathearn

Faculty Publications

When Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision” (Galatians 2:11–12). So wrote the Apostle Paul to the Galatian Saints. This passage is a difficult one. Just as ancient Saints were not comfortable with the public tension between Christianity’s most prominent leaders, neither are modern Saints today.

The Influence Of Faith On Marital Commitment, Michael A. Goodman

Faculty Publications

Religion significantly influences many American marriages. Ninetyfive percent of married couples in the United States report a religious affiliation (Mahoney, Pargament, Tarakeshwar, & Swank, 2001). Not only is a religious affiliation almost universal, but around 60% of Americans report that religion is important or very important to them (McCullough, Larson, Hoyt, Koenig, & Thoresen, 2000). Over half of American married couples say they attend religious services at least monthly (Heaton & Pratt, 1990, p. 196). Even with a tendency to exaggerate religious participation, these statistics indicate that religious involvement is an important part of American marriage and family life (Christiano, …

Linguistic Behavior And Religious Activity, Wendy Baker-Smemoe, David Bowie

Faculty Publications

Studies have found that Mormons and non-Mormons in Utah exhibit significant linguistic differences. We break this down further by investigating whether there are also differences between Mormons who actively participate in the religion and those who do not, and find significant differences with a medium or larger effect size between the groups for multiple variables. We conclude that when investigating the linguistic correlates of religious affiliation in a community, it is vital to elicit not just respondents’ religious affiliations, but also their level of participation within that religion.

Linguistic Behavior And Religious Activity, Wendy Baker, David Bowie

Faculty Publications

Studies have found that Mormons and non-Mormons in Utah exhibit significant linguistic differences. We break this down further by investigating whether there are also differences between Mormons who actively participate in the religion and those who do not, and find significant differences with a medium or larger effect size between the groups for multiple variables. We conclude that when investigating the linguistic correlates of religious affiliation in a community, it is vital to elicit not just respondents’ religious affiliations, but also their level of participation within that religion.

Full Issue

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

No abstract provided.