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

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New Book Explores Faith And Philosophy

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

The Maxwell Institute and Brigham Young University are pleased to announce the publication of a new volume by BYU philosophy professor James E. Faulconer.

Number Manipulation For Profit, Or Just For Fun?, Paul Y. Hoskisson

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

When the writer of the Gospel of Matthew listed the genealogy of Christ, he divided it into three sections, each containing 14 generations, to wit, Abraham to David, David to the Exile, and the Exile to Christ (Matthew 1:17; also 1–17). In order to do this he had to manipulate the names by leaving out several ancestors mentioned in the Old Testament. The reason Matthew thought it necessary to create this mathematical/genealogical fiction has never been explained adequately.

Wordprint Analysis And Joseph Smith’S Role As Editor Of The Times And Seasons, Paul Fields, Matthew Roper, Atul Nepal

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

One of the issues that swirls around discus- sions of Book of Mormon geography is the rightful place the editorials in the 1842 Times and Seasons must take. The story of the editorials begins with Joseph’s receipt of John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood’s Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chaipas, and Yucatan, published in 1841. In early 1842, the Times and Seasons published several enthu- siastic articles that drew attention to the discoveries of Stephens and Catherwood in Central America and compared them favorably with the Book of Mormon. Two of these articles were signed by the editor, while …

Full Issue

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

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Summer Seminar Mentors Rising Scholars

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

Ten graduate and advanced undergraduate students selected from more than half a dozen institutions participated in the Mormon Scholars Foundation summer seminar held this past May and June under the auspices of the Maxwell Institute.

Meti Volume Highlights Education, D. Morgan Davis

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

Consider this picture: A sandy courtyard some- where on the outskirts of a desert village. A group of boys—ages perhaps 8 to 16—are gathered outside the entrance to a simple, well-worn little building. They are seated or kneeling in the sand, huddled in the last vestiges of the late morning shade. Each holds a text or a tablet. Some are reading, some are looking out to where the pale sky meets a broken line of housetops and trees, reciting, in a quiet murmur to themselves, the words of the book they are holding. Some gently rock back and forth as …

Zarahemla: Revisiting The “Seed Of Compassion”, Pedro Olavarria, David E. Bokovoy

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

More than ten years ago, Stephen Ricks and John Tvedtnes presented a case for interpreting the Book of Mormon proper noun Zarahemla as a Hebraic construct meaning “seed of compassion” or “child of grace, pity, or compassion.” The authors theorized:

It may be that the Mulekite leader was given that name because his ancestor had been rescued when the other sons of King Zedekiah were slain during the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem. [See Mosiah 25:2.] To subsequent Nephite generations, it may have even suggested the deliverance of their own ancestors from Jerusalem prior to its destruction or the anticipation of …

“Symbolism In Scripture” Focus Of Willes Center Conference

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

“Symbolism in Scripture” was the theme of the second biennial Laura F. Willes Center Book of Mormon Conference held recently. The conference included presentations by 13 scholars addressing such topics as “The Symbolic Use of Hand Gestures in the Book of Mormon and Other Latter-day Saint Scripture” and “Light: The Master Symbol.”

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.

Latest Farms Review Tidies Garden Of Book Of Mormon Studies

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

A trio of essays in the current issue of the Review (vol. 22, no. 1) concerns John W. Welch’s The Sermon on the Mount in the Light of the Temple, which makes a highly original and important contribution to biblical studies by revealing the “temple register” and organic unity of Jesus’s famous sermon. George L. Mitton’s introductory remarks call attention to two scholarly reviews of Welch’s study that find his thesis intriguing and plausible. A substantial excerpt from Welch’s preface to his book follows, as does a review by Gaye Strathearn that offers a helpful summary of Welch’s approach and …

“And He Was A Young Man”: The Literary Preservation Of Alma’S Autobiographical Wordplay, Matthew L. Bowen

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

Thanks to the work of Hugh Nibley, Paul Hoskisson, Terrence Szink, and others, the plausibility of Alma as a Semitic name is no longer an issue. Hoskisson has noted that “Alma” derives from the root ‘lm (< *ǵlm) with the meaning “youth” or “lad,” corroborating Nibley’s earlier suggestion that "Alma” means “young man” (cf. Hebrew ‘elem,עלם). Significantly, “Alma” occurs for the first time in the Book of Mormon text as follows: “But there was one among them whose name was Alma, he also being a descendant of Nephi. And he was a young man, and he believed the words which Abinadi had spoken” (Mosiah 17:2; emphasis in all scriptural citations is mine). This first occurrence of “Alma” is juxtaposed with a description matching the etymological meaning of the name, suggesting an underlying wordplay: Alma (‘lm’) was an ‘elem. A play on words sharing a common root is a literary technique known as polyptoton.

Neal A. Maxwell Institute Hosts Conference On Avicenna

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

There are few figures in the history of Islamic thought whose stature can rival that of Ibn Sina (980–1037), or Avicenna, as he came to be known in the Latin West. Educated at Bukhara, in modern-day Uzbekistan, Avicenna was, by his own admission, a prodigy and recognized as such early on. If there is a certain lack of modesty in his making that claim, there is no disputing that he had the credentials to back it up. He was forced by the turbulent politics of his day to move a number of times, but through it all he never stopped …

Messiah Dvd Now Available

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

The long-anticipated DVD set, Messiah: Behold the Lamb of God, is now available for purchase. For the first time ever, teachings of the restoration, sound academic views from faithful Latter-day Saint scholars, and state-of-the-art documentary production have been combined in this seven-part series on Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.

Work Of Maxwell Institute To Be Presented At Education Week

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

Brigham Young University Campus Education Week, slated for August 16–20, 2010, will feature a series of presentations that represent a range of the work done by the Maxwell Institute.

Nibley Fellowship Program Assists Rising Scholars

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

For a number of years the Maxwell Institute has sponsored a graduate fellowship program that gives financial aid to students pursuing advanced degrees in fields of special interest to the Institute. Named in honor of the late eminent Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh W. Nibley, this program fosters the next generation of faithful scholars by provid- ing financial aid to students enrolled in accredited PhD programs in areas of study directly related to the work and mission of the Maxwell Institute. Of particular interest is work done under the auspices of the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies …

Nibley Lecture Series Presentations Available Online

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

The lecture series “The Work of Hugh W. Nibley: On the 100th Anniversary of His Birth” concluded in April. The videos of each lecture are currently being prepared for availability on our Web site. Presently, video of four of the lectures can be accessed through the Upcoming Events section of the Maxwell Institute home page (maxwellinstitute .byu.edu).

An Early Islamic Challenge To Christian History, D. Morgan Davis

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

One of the great lessons to be drawn from the Islamic world of the Middle Ages is that in order for people of varying faiths and persuasions to coexist peacefully, it is not necessary that significant differences between them be settled or even downplayed. Islamic society was vibrant with debate and ideological rivalry. But there was a framework of tolerance that allowed for these differences while preserving basic modes for coexistence. For example, the Islamic caliphates (beginning in the seventh century and continuing into the early modern period) treated the Jews and Christians living within their domains as ahl al-kitab …

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.

“He Shall Add”: Wordplay On The Name Joseph And An Early Instance Of Gezera Shawa In The Book Of Mormon, Matthew L. Bowen

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

In explaining the prophecies of Isaiah in which his soul delighted, Nephi sets up an intriguing wordplay on the name Joseph. On several occasions he combines segments of Isaiah 11:11 and Isaiah 29:14 to foretell the gathering and restoration of Israel at the time of the coming forth of additional scripture. The most discernible reason for Nephi’s interpretation of these two specific texts in the light of each other is their shared use of the Hebrew verb yāsap, which literally means “to add” but can have the more developed senses to “continue” or “proceed to do” something and “to do …

Early Book Of Mormon Writings Now Online

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

The most extensive collection of writings about the Book of Mormon published between 1829 and 1844 has been made available as an online database. The collection, 19th-Century Publications about the Book of Mormon (1829–1844), includes nearly 600 publications and close to one million words of text. It is intended to comprise, insofar as possible, everything published during Joseph Smith’s lifetime relating to the Book of Mormon. Under the auspices of Digital Collections at Brigham Young University’s Harold B. Lee Library, this ambitious project can be accessed at lib.byu.edu/dlib/bompublications.

Willes Describes Lofty Goals At Fourth Annual Neal A. Maxwell Lecture

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

Mark Willes delivered the fourth annual Neal A. Maxwell Lecture on March 11, 2010. Willes, president and chief executive officer of Deseret Management Corporation, endowed the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies in 2007 in honor of his wife.

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.

Jeremiah’S Game, Paul Y. Hoskisson

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

Ancient authors loved to play with their composi­tions much more than we do today. In fact, it was much easier to manipulate words and structure in some ancient languages than it is in Modern English. Ancient writers even played games with the readers of their work. One such ancient Hebrew game is called atbash, and Jeremiah used it quite effectively.

Byu Herculaneum Project Honored With Mommsen Prize

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

On January 11, the 2009 Theodor Mommsen Prize, Section Papirologia Ercolanese, was presented to Steven Booras, senior project manager with the Maxwell Institute’s Center for the Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts and to Brigham Young University for “the production of multispectral images of the Herculaneum Papyri.”

Breakthrough Translation Of Avicenna’S Physics Published, D. Morgan Davis

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

The Middle Eastern Texts Initiative, which pub­lishes texts and accompanying English translations of important works of philosophy, theology, science, and mysticism from the classical Islamic period (roughly the 9th through 14th centuries), has announced the publication of a new title in its Islamic Translation Series. Avicenna: The Physics of The Healing, translated by Jon McGinnis, an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy of the University of Missouri, St. Louis, brings to 16 the total number of volumes pub­ lished by METI in its various series.

To The Moon And Mars And Back To The Archives: Working With Modern Space Collections At The University Of Arizona Libraries, Molly Stothert-Maurer, Lisa E. Duncan

Journal of Western Archives

With a long history at the University of Arizona with excellence in the lunar and planetary sciences, the University of Arizona Libraries Special Collections has increased its collecting of the History of Science and Technology. These large, modern space collections pose unique challenges and require specific needs to be addressed in order for the collections to be stored, processed and made available for access. It is essential for archivists working with these collections to ask their donors the right questions and learn the limitations and restrictions that often come with acquiring modern space collections. Archives around the country have started …

Teaching Democratically. A Book Review Of Civic Literacy In Schools And Communities, Nicholas V. Longo, Carmine Perrotti

Democracy & Education

No abstract provided.

Teaching “Justice Citizens” In Australia. A Book Review Of Activist Citizenship Education: A Framework For Creating Justice Citizens, Cong Lin, Liz Jackson

Democracy & Education

No abstract provided.