Digital Commons Network^™

Egyptian Writing On Gold “Plates”, John Gee

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

A recent issue of a popular journal on ancient Egypt discusses a number of sheets of gold foil incised with Egyptian writing. These artifacts provide some interesting parallels to the Book of Mormon.

Doctrine Of Exaltation Squares With Early Christian Belief, Daniel C. Peterson

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

In 1998 Jordan Vajda wrote a remarkable master’s thesis at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, California, entitled “‘Partakers of the Divine Nature’: A Comparative Analysis of Patristic and Mormon Doctrines of Divinization.” The thesis is remarkable both for what it has to say and, perhaps even more strikingly, for who is saying it: Jordan Vajda is a Dominican Catholic priest. At the present time, he serves in the Catholic campus ministry at the Newman Center adjacent to the University of Washington in Seattle.

Digitization Of Herculaneum Papyri Completed

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

BYU and Institute personnel recently traveled to Naples, Italy, to mark the completion of an Institute team’s work of digitally imaging 1,600 papyrus scrolls from the ancient city of Herculaneum. On 4 June the Institute’s Steve Booras, who supervised the team, and M. Gerald Bradford, associate executive director of the Institute, joined BYU professor Roger T. Macfarlane, the principal investigator of the Herculaneum papyri project, in presenting the final set of CDs containing the digitized images to Mauro Giancaspro, director of the library in Naples (the Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli) where the Herculaneum papyri are housed. They also presented a …

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.

Forthcoming Publication

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

The Hor Book of Breathings: A Translation and Commentary, by Michael D. Rhodes, treats the fragments of the Joseph Smith Papyri associated with Facsimiles 1 and 3 of the Book of Abraham. The book features hieroglyphs that were custom designed for this project. Available in June 2002.

Special Report On Critical Text Project

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

In lieu of this year’s first issue of the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, a special report of the 20 October 2001 FARMS symposium on the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project will be mailed to FARMS subscribers with the next issue of the Insights newsletter.

Nibley Fellowship Application Deadline, Guidelines

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

Each year at about this time we remind graduate students about the Nibley Fellowship Program. Those interested in applying for the first time or who wish to renew their fellowships for the 2002/ 2003 academic year must do so by 30 June 2002.

Nephi’S Later Reflections On The Tree Of Life Vision, Michael B. Parker

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

An interesting phenomenon concerning 1 and 2 Nephi is that parts of the latter book draw on the tree of life vision that Nephi and his father shared, as recorded in 1 Nephi 8, 11–15. In an earlier FARMS Update, John A. Tvedtnes demonstrated that Nephi drew on this vision when composing the psalm in 2 Nephi 4. Further study suggests the likelihood that Nephi’s exhortation in 2 Nephi 31 was similarly informed by that sublime vision.

New Book A Milestone In Mormon Studies, Louis C. Midgley

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

Latter-day Saint scholar Terryl L. Givens has recently made two extraordinary contributions to Mormon studies. The first, Viper on the Hearth: Mormons,Myths, and the Construction of Heresy, was published by the prestigious Oxford University Press in 1997 and received virtually uniformly glowing reviews. If one wishes to understand the complex of interests and motivations—pecuniary, personal, and ideological—that fuel both sectarian and secular anti-Mormonism, Viper is the book to consult. The editors at Oxford appreciated the merits of this well-written, informative book and invited Givens to publish again with them. The result is By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture …

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.

Forthcoming Publication

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

The Hor Book of Breathings: A Translation and Commentary, by Michael D. Rhodes, treats the fragments of the Joseph Smith Papyri associated with Facsimiles 1 and 3 of the Book of Abraham.

From Other Publishers

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

Understanding Islam: An LDS Perspective, a new audiotape from Covenant Recordings in which Daniel C. Peterson, a BYU scholar of Islam and Arabic, provides a fascinating look at the history and beliefs of a religion of more than 1.4 billion adherents. See the order form.

Brown Bag Report

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

Each semester the Institute sponsors a series of brown bag presentations. These lectures give researchers the opportunity to present their latest findings to their peers in related fields and to receive constructive comment. Reports of four recent lectures follow.

The Submergence Of The City Of Jerusalem In The Land Of Nephi, John L. Sorenson

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

In touring southern Guatemala, many FARMS patrons traveled west of the capital city to visit Lake Atitlán, one of the most photogenic spots in Central America. Tour guides have told thousands that the beautiful “waters of Mormon” beloved by Alma and his people (see Mosiah 18:30) might well be Lake Atitlán. The Nephite record also tells us that a city called Jerusalem, which was constructed by Lamanites led by Nephite dissenters, was located “away joining the borders of Mormon” (Alma 21:1–2).

World Of Abraham Topic Of Farms Conference

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

Continuing a series of conferences on the Book of Abraham, the Institute sponsored “The World of Abraham,” a free public event at Brigham Young University on 23 March featuring new research that further illuminates the geographical and cultural horizons of the Book of Abraham. Institute executive director Daniel Oswald greeted a crowd of 350 people in the Tanner Building auditorium and dozens more in an overflow room. Many others viewed the event via delayed Web transmission a few hours later.

Freemasonry And The Origins Of Latter-Day Saints Temple Ordinances, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw

Interpreter Foundation Books

My first exposure to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came in 1988 when I first met my future wife, a dedicated member of the Church. She was pleased to answer any questions I had and to share insights into her beliefs, but I was uninterested in pursuing any serious inquiry into their teachings.

Horizontal Gene Transfer Of Antibiotic Resistance In Staphylococcus Aureus Biofilms, Elisa Mcrae, Ashley Ball, Brad Berges

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2023

Staphylococcus aureus is known to acquire much antibiotic resistance (AR), though the mechanisms by which AR is conferred between bacteria is still unknown. Many theories propose that biofilms play a role in the sharing of genetic information between bacteria, or horizontal gene transfer (HGT 1,2 . However, studies have yet to confirm under what conditions HGT is most likely to occur, as well as when it is most efficient. Analyzing HGT will contribute to a fuller understanding of how antibiotic resistance is conferred and how to combat this issue in our society.

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.

Latest Occasional Papers Highlights Biblical Scholar

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

A new publication from the Institute highlights the biblical research of a prominent British scholar. Kevin Christensen’s “Paradigms Regained: A Survey of Margaret Barker’s Scholarship and Its Significance for Mormon Studies,” the second issue of the FARMS Occasional Papers, compares the works of Margaret Barker with the writings of many Latter-day Saint researchers, including Hugh W. Nibley, Daniel C. Peterson, and John W. Welch.

New Resource On Ancient Maya Writing Released

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

A new volume published under the Institute’s Research Press imprint is A Thematic Bibliography of Ancient Maya Writing, by Stephen D. Houston and Zachary Nelson. “Many people don’t know about the quantity of research on ancient Maya writing,” says Houston, a BYU professor of anthropology who is an authority on Maya writing. “In fact, the literature is overwhelmingly large. This bibliography provides a roadmap through that literature.”

‘Scourged’ Vs. ‘Scorched’ In Mosiah 17:13, Royal Skousen

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

Very often in my work on the critical text of the Book of Mormon, I have discovered cases where the text reads inappropriately. Book of Mormon researchers have typically attempted to find some circumstance or interpretation to explain a difficult reading, but in many cases I have found that difficult readings are actually the result of simple scribal errors.

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.

Love Vs. Hate: An Analysis Of Helaman 15:1–4, David E. Bokovoy

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

Few literary genres from the ancient world stand out so prominently as the Near Eastern vassal treaty. Scholars have shown that these political contracts formed between vassal kings and suzerain provided the conceptual background for the book of Deuteronomy. “The assumption is that Israel conceived of its relation to Yahweh as that of subject peoples to a world king and that they expressed this relationship in the concepts and formulas of the suzerainty treaty.”

Lds Scholars Embrace Historicity Of Scripture, David E. Bokovoy

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

In defense of the historicity—the historical actuality—of scriptures embraced by Latter-day Saints, several BYU and Institute scholars have contributed to a collection of essays published recently by BYU’s Religious Studies Center. Edited by Paul Y. Hoskisson, Historicity and the Latter-day Saint Scriptures contains 11 essays that explore this topic.

Symposium Reports Research On Abraham Traditions

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

A FARMS symposium at BYU on Saturday, 26 January, highlighted findings from a years-long effort to collect, translate, and publish ancient accounts of the early life of the patriarch Abraham. Titled “Traditions about the Early Life of Abraham,” the free public event featured presentations by John Tvedtnes, Brian Hauglid, and John Gee, compilers and editors of a new book of the same title published by the Institute under the FARMS imprint.

The Effect Of Alcohol On Lipid Membrane-Membrane Fusion And Snare Proteins, Robert E. Coffman

Theses and Dissertations

Currently the treatment of alcohol use disorder is very difficult and often requires the combination of therapy and medications, with many who undertake treatment experiencing relapse over time. There is also no treatment in use to prevent the development of alcohol use disorder. It is the aim of this work to provide information that may be useful for the development of a preventative treatment for developing alcohol use disorder by elucidating more of the acute effects of alcohol use. It is known that these effects originate in the brain. Within the brain are circuits made up of neurons that communicate …

Language Maintenance And Proficiency Of World Language Teachers, Anna E. Robison

Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was to examine the current proficiency strengths and weaknesses of practicing K-12 non-native WL teachers in the states of Utah and Oklahoma. Data were gathered through a survey and the OPIc diagnostic grid. The results revealed what features of Function, Accuracy, Content, and Text Type were strengths and weaknesses for OPIc ratings Intermediate High, Advanced Low, Advanced Mid, and Advanced High. The self-reported OPI scores compared to the OPIc scores found an encouraging rate of TL maintenance and improvement. The language maintenance activities reported by the participants revealed the frequency with which they engage in …

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.

Forthcoming Publications

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

The Hôr Book of Breathings: A Translation and Commentary, by Michael D. Rhodes, treats the fragments of the Joseph Smith Papyri associated with Facsimiles 1 and 3 of the Book of Abraham. Available in March 2002.

Book Of Mormon Word Usage: “Seal You His”, John Gee

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

The verb to seal occurs some 34 times in the Book of Mormon. In most of these instances the verb takes (is followed by) a direct object referring to such things as the law, a book, records, words, an account, an epistle, an interpretation, revelation, the truth, and the stone interpreters. Twice, however, the verb to seal takes a person as a direct object that is qualified by a possessive pronoun:

Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be …