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

The Comprehensive Bibliography of the Book of Mormon keeps growing. Thanks to many people who sent in additions and corrections to the bibliography prepared by Gary Gillum and Jack Welch last year, that listing has increased from 1700 to over 2000 entries.

Ancient Christian Writings Available

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

The long-awaited first volume of Doubleday's landmark publication of the Pseudepigrapha is off the press - and the best deal anywhere for getting a copy is through FARMS.

Recommended Separation Distances For 1.3 Ammunition And Explosives, Clint Guymon, Ming Liu, Josephine Covino

Faculty Publications

Separation Distances are used throughout the world to protect people and assets from the potential hazardous effects from propellants, explosives, and pyrotechnics. The current separation distances for Hazard Division (HD) 1.3 substances and articles used in the United States, in some cases, may not adequately protect against the effects from heat flux and debris when those substances and articles are ignited in a confined structure. Multiple tests in such a confined scenario with HD 1.3 substances have shown that the heat flux and debris hazards could result in injury at distances beyond the current specified explosives safety separation distance (ESSD). …

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

No abstract provided.

Evidence For Tents In The Book Of Mormon, John L. Sorenson

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

One of the minor points made in recent criticisms of the Book of Mormon is the claim that there is no evidence of a tent-making or tent-using tradition in Mesoamerica and no available material for making the tents that the Book of Mormon mentions. Actually, Mesoamericanist literature makes it clear that tents were in regular use by Aztec armies at the time of the Spanish conquest, and there is good reason to suppose that they were used by other peoples and in earlier times (including Nephite times) in Mesoamerica.

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

No abstract provided.

Dead Sea Scroll Expert Gives Farms Lecture

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

Emanual Tov, an eminent Dead Sea Scrolls scholar, delivered the seventh annual F.A.R.M.S. lecture on February 22 in the BYU Varsity Theater on "The Hebrew Bible in the Dead Sea Scrolls." Tov is Editor- in-Chief of the Dead Sea Scrolls Publication Project and a world-renowned expert on the Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls. A transcript and video of his presentation are available on the order form. Tov gave a similar lecture in Salt Lake City (both lectures were presented to overflow crowds).

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

No abstract provided.

Volunteer Creates Index Of Titles And Contents For Collected Works

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

Frederick M. Huchel, a longtime FARMS volunteer and fan of the writings of Hugh Nibley, has compiled a combined table of contents for all volumes (1-13) of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley and an alphabetical index of the section and chapter titles included in those volumes. This handy 24-page pamphlet, donated to FARMS by Huchel, can be ordered at the cost of printing, using the enclosed order form. It should prove useful to readers who wish to find a particular essay or who want to know what essays have been published in the Collected Works so far.

Research Staff Adds Senior Project Manager

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

The FARMS research s ta££ has been strengthened by the addition of John A. Tvedtnes as Senior Project Manager. He will assist M. Gerald Bradford, Director of Research, taking responsibility for the management of specific research projects.

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

No abstract provided.

Bibliography Nears Completion

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

Don Parry reports that the Annotated Bibliography of the Book of Mormon that he and others have been working on for many months is in the final stages. When the indexing is completed (in the next two months), it will be ready to be presented to a publisher for consideration. Several publishers are being considered. Watch future issues of Insights for more details.

Nibley Pearl Of Great Price Class To Be Broadcast

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

Starting the first Sunday in April, KBYU-TV will shift from its broadcast of the FARMS Book of Mormon Lecture Series and begin broadcasting Hugh Nibley's Pearl of Great Price class. This class presents two semesters of Nibley' s extraordinary and insightful line-by-line analysis of the Pearl of Great Price, as taught at BYU in 1989 and recorded by BYU Continuing Education. We hope that our friends in the KBYU broadcast area will enjoy watching this series.

New Video Lectures

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

Two new lectures are available in the FARMS Book of Mormon Lecture Series. Dale Le Baron, associate professor of Church History at BYU, discusses how the Book of Mormon presents "A Pattern for Preparing a People to Meet Christ." This pattern includes: know the signs of the second coming; beware of wickedness; know the patterns of destruction; believe that despite persecution, righteousness will prevail; heed the counsel of the prophets; and study the ministry and the return of Christ. The Lord's elect are responsible for preparing his people for the second coming of the Savior. Brother LeBaron counsels us to …

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

No abstract provided.

Farms News

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

After a year of planning, FARMS announces the beginning of a very long, very tough, and very exciting project: the production of a Book of Mormon Encyclopedia.

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

No abstract provided.

Nibley Temple Essay Reprinted

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

FARMS has reprinted (from volume 4 of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley) an influential article by Nibley on the temple of ancient Israel, entitled "What Is a Temple?" The subheadings in the text give a sense of its content and emphases.

Paul's Detention Site In Israel Believed Found

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

Reuters reports that archaeologists in Israel have uncovered a Roman governmental complex in Caesarea where they believe Paul was held in detention. In Acts 23-26 we read that Paul was kept in Herod's judgment hall in Caesarea, where he faced in turn Felix, Festus, and Agrippa and where he appealed to be sent before Caesar's judgment seat in Rome. An inscription found in the site indicates that the complex housed the government bureau responsible for internal security for Judea, making this complex the likely spot for Paul's incarceration and hearing before the Roman governor.

Several Significant Historical And Anthropological Essays Of John Sorenson Gathered In Two New Volumes

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

Nearly two dozen essays by John L. Sorenson, professor emeritus of anthropology at Brigham Young University, have been conveniently gathered into two paperback volumes by a Salt Lake publisher, New Sage Books. Some of these essays will be familiar to FARMS readers, but many will be new. Both collections can be obtained at a discount from FARMS using the enclosed order form.

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

No abstract provided.

Progress On The Maya Murals Of Bonampak

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

The February 1996 issue of INSIGHTS reported that FARMS was assisting Yale University and the National Geographic Society in photographing the deteriorating Maya murals at the Bonampak site in Chiapas, Mexico. Using a multispectral filter provided by FARMS, the Bonampak team captured on film vivid details of the mural scenes otherwise obscured by centuries of decay and incrustation.

New Booklet Explains Basic Lds Beliefs

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

FARMS and the BYU Religious Studies Center have jointly published a booklet that discusses some of the beliefs of members of the LDS Church. The contributors to Latter-day Christianity: Ten Basic Issues hope these discussions will, first, help Latter-day Saints who want to explain their beliefs to their friends of other faiths and, second, be useful to people outside the LDS Church who want a simple and clear statement of those beliefs from informed insiders.

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

No abstract provided.

Farms Through The Years, Part 2: A Conversation With Stephen D. Ricks And Noel B. Reynolds

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

The following article continues a three-part series on the history of FARMS, each installment featuring comments from two people who figure prominently in the history and ongoing work of FARMS. This segment presents comments from separate interviews conducted by Don Brugger, managing editor of INSIGHTS, with Stephen D. Ricks and Noel B. Reynolds, who were administrative officers during the organization's middle years. Ricks, currently a professor of Hebrew and Semitic languages at BYU and a member of the FARMS Board of Trustees, succeeded John W. Welch to serve as the second president of FARMS,from 1988 through 1991. He then …

Civilizational Security: Why The Russian Invasion Of Ukraine Shows That ‘National Security’ Is Not Enough To Understand Geopolitics, Greg (Grzegorz) Lewicki

Comparative Civilizations Review

This paper argues that the idea of “national security” is sometimes overwritten by “civilizational security” in security-related considerations. Civilizational security, as understood in this paper, refers to a country's security stemming from its belonging to a cultural zone or a civilization. The author clarifies the terms “a civilization,” “civilizational identity,” and “civilizational security.” Citing the examples of Poland, Ukraine, and Russia when considering the parameter of civilizational security allows us to better analyze and predict some processes, including geopolitical dilemmas and civilizational trends. It is argued that prior to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia misunderstood its own civilizational security …

The Theoretical Status Of The Concept Of Civilization, Roger W. Wescott

Comparative Civilizations Review

This paper may be regarded as an effort to answer some questions concerning the conceptualization of civilization.

1. Whether or not concepts are essentially verbal, is the concept of civilization primarily denotative (referential) or connotative (emotive) in meaning?

2. If the concept of civilization is primarily emotive, is its emotive force predominantly laudatory or derogatory in effect?

3. When the concept of civilization is derogatory, is it decadence or outdatedness that is primarily derogated?

4. If the concept of civilization is primarily denotative, is its denotation primarily abstract (referring to culture and associated mentifacts) or primarily concrete (referring to people …

The Mything Link: Why Sacred Storytelling Is A Key Human Survival Strategy, Ken Baskin

Comparative Civilizations Review

For several decades, societies across the globe have faced a real existential threat with challenges such as global warming. Yet no one in the elite has been able to do anything to improve conditions. We seem to be trapped in the kind of situation that Einstein described when he discussed problems that can’t be solved with the logic that created them.

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

No abstract provided.

Tents In The Book Of Mormon, John L. Sorenson

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

Rerences to New World tents in the Book of Mormon raise legitimate questions about whether tents are known from scholarly sources on Mesoamerica. The earliest evidence comes from historical documents written around the time of the Spanish conquest in 1521, or more than one thousand years after the demise of the Nephite civilization. These records indicate that different kinds of tents and tent-like structures were in regular use by Aztec armies and that, when the Spaniards saw them, they immediately labeled them tiendas, "tents."