Arts and Humanities Commons^™

President's Message

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

New procedures have been introduced to standardize the review process for FARMS' publications. The Evaluation Committee, one of three standing units directing the Foundation's activities, has instituted a more formal system of judging each paper submitted for issuance under FARMS auspices. An evaluation editor, currently John Sorenson, and a dozen respected researchers constitute an evaluation board. Where necessary, they will be aided by the special knowledge of a panel of more than 100 others.

Volunteer Network

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

The strength of F.A.R.M.S. has always been its volunteer base. Many volunteers find their service very satisfying. During the past twelve months, under the vigorous direction of Les Campbell, the F.A.R.M.S. volunteer network has expanded and solidified. Volunteers all over the world, as well as in Provo, regularly continue to help with distribution, translation, firesides, introducing people to F.A.R.M.S., checking address lists, conducting local fund-raising activities, purchasing and placing Book of Mormon-related materials in local libraries, holding open houses, organizing reading groups or student clubs, conducting research, working with local book stores, and many other activities.

Looking For The Nephite Bountiful

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

A grant from F.A.R.M.S. will support a photographic reconnaissance trip in southern Mexico at the end of December. At the invitation of John Sorenson, Dr. David Palmer and Mexican associates will examine a small area just east of the Coatzacoalcos River near the Gulf of Mexico where one or more archaeological ruins are thought to exist (remains have been re ported informally). Sorenson proposed in An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon that the city of Bountiful where the Savior visited was possibly located about there.

Farms Monthly Updates

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

Some Newsletter readers may be unaware that since December, 1983, monthly one-page information memos have been produced by the Foundation and distributed to Cornerstone Club contributors. These releases are short, specific reports on late-breaking news about pertinent discoveries or research findings. Some of this information later appears in abbreviated form in the Newsletter or other public sources, but those contributors who read the Monthly Update receive the news first from this unique information service.

Announcing The Cornerstone Club

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

The Cornerstone Club is our way of saying "Thank you" to those who are providing generous financial support to FARMS. Many of the exciting new projects you are reading about would never happen without people who care enough about scriptural studies to provide the necessary funds.

Friends Of Farms

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

F.A.R.M.S. is currently organizing the Friends of F.A.R.M.S., a group of serious fund-raisers who will help us increase an endowment for the Foundation. The participants will make a commitment of what they will do each year to help the Foundation, such as raising a specific dollar amount or contacting a certain number of potential donors. F.A.R.M.S. will supply selected materials published each year to the participants to promote the Foundation and to keep for their own use.

Electronic Databases Speed And Enrich Your Scripture And Gospel Study

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

As part of our service to students of the scriptures, we have arranged with Infobases, Inc., to distribute some of their electronic databases of gospel materials to F.A.R.M.S. subscribers at significant savings. These databases help you find verses of scripture and passages of text much faster than by hand, using verse or page number or key words or phrases, and they open up connections between passages in new ways.

A Decade Of Research Explored And Documented

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

This month, F.A.R.M.S. and Deseret Book will release their newest book, Reexploring the Book of Mormon. This volume reports the highlights of F.A.R.M.S. research over the last ten years. It is designed to appeal to a very wide audience.

More On Abraham In Egyptian Papyri

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

F.A.R.M.S. has been pleased to receive several comments from interested readers about the article that appeared in our September Newsletter exploring the possible significance of the name Abraham in certain late Egyptian magical papyri. As that article indicated, full publication of this ongoing work is yet to come. As work progresses, up-todate reports will be given.

New Year's Greeting And Thanks For Your Assistance

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

Each year, many people contribute time and resources to make it possible for the Foundation to promote research on the Book of Mormon and other ancient scripture and to publish the results of that research. Every contribution helps, whether it is a subscription, a $20 gift, or a donation of thousands of dollars, and whether it is two hours or two hundred hours of volunteer labor.

Farms Broadcasts On Tv And Radio

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

The following broadcasts of FARMS material may be of interest.

Major Endowment Will Support New Farms Projects

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

Karen and Alan Ashton of Orem, Utah, have established a significant FARMS endowment to support the timely implementation of new projects. Their generous gift will ensure that important new research opportunities are not missed while waiting for funding to become available--the endowment will support scholars in pursuing these research opportunities until normal sources of funding are established. This new funding and the increased amount of research it will support both necessitate and make possible the creation of a new position of Director of Research to help in the development of new projects and the supervision of ongoing projects.

Manager's Report

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

Newsletter circulation. Reprints and reports. Financial contributors. Staff.

Subscriptions And Donations Still Essential For Farms

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

Since the announcement that FARMS has been invited to become part of BYU, we have received several phone calls asking whether FARMS still needs the financial support of its subscribers and donors. The answer is emphatically yes!

Contributions Of Farms Members Still Crucial

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

As FARMS has become part of Brigham Young University, some of the faithful members of FARMS have asked if their support is still important to the Foundation. The answer is a resounding yes! Just in the financial area alone, membership fees (which we have also called subscriptions) are crucial to the research and publications of the Foundation. The university contributes less than 20 percent of the Foundation's annual operating budget-a very welcome contribution, but obviously not enough to keep FARMS and its projects running. We still must rely on membership fees, donations, and the sale of publications to support ongoing …

A Call For Emendations, Royal Skousen

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

As I have been working on the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project, people have
occasionally written or talked to me about passages in the Book of Mormon that seem strange or difficult. A good many have made specific suggestions about emendations (or revisions to the text). Surprisingly, a large percentage of these have ended up being correct or have led me to come up with an appropriate emendation.

Institute News

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

Noel B. Reynolds has been appointed director of the Institute. A professor of political science and a past president of FARMS, he recently completed a five-year term as associate academic vice president for undergraduate studies at BYU. Further coverage on this change in leadership will appear in a future issue of Insights.

Looking Forward To 25 More Years Of Farms

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

This is an excerpt from a dinner speech that FARMS founder John W. Welch gave to members of the FARMS Development Council on 19 March 2004.

An evening like this, which begins our commemoration of the 25th anniversary of FARMS, makes me think back to our founding days in 1979. Keeping alive the memory of foundation stories, of creation accounts, is part of keeping on track for the future.

Nibley Classic On Papyri Given New Life In Second Edition

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

After years of intense effort, the long-overdue second edition of Hugh Nibley’s 1975 book The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment is at press. This new edition has been meticulously pre-pared by BYU Egyptologists John Gee and Michael D. Rhodes, who upgraded this Nibley classic on many points (some unseen, others impossible to miss, such as the superior illustrations by Michael Lyon) while preserving the original con-tent. Published by FARMS and Deseret Book, this edition is a fitting tribute to Nibley’s pioneering work and will enable a new generation of students and scholars to profit from Nibley’s …

Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit Tours United Kingdom And Europe

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

Since their initial discovery in 1947, the Dead Sea Scrolls have drawn the interest of people world­wide. FARMS has been fortunate to play a part in bringing the scrolls to the world, and that effort continues. The FARMS Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit, sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-­day Saints and managed by full­time missionaries Wayne and Janet Chamberlain, completed its tour of the United Kingdom and western Europe in May and is now making its way through central Europe.

Lehi’S Journey Of Faith Topic Of Farms Documentary

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

FARMS has teamed with award-winning Latter-day Saint filmmaker Peter Johnson to produce a documentary on Lehi and company’s route from Jerusalem to the New World.

Based on the most recent research, the 90-min-ute DVD documentary will feature Latter-day Saint scholars commenting on proposed sites for the party’s first base camp near the Red Sea; Nahom, where Ishmael was buried; and Bountiful, the fertile coast-al locale where Nephi directed the building of his ship. The documentary will also feature the latest findings on Lehi’s ocean voyage and explore candidates for Book of Mormon sites in Mesoamerica.

Farms Review Probes Geography, Papyri, Isaiah, Creation, And More

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

The latest FARMS Review (vol. 16, no. 2, 2004) is another weighty issue flush with articles covering a wide array of interesting topics. In the lineup are reviews of works on Book of Mormon geography, de-Christianization of the Old Testament, the Joseph Smith Papyri, Isaiah’s central message, Jerusalem in Lehi’s day, creation theology, gospel symbolism, and the Christian countercult movement. Also included are two freestanding essays, one older article of lasting appeal (initiating a new feature in the Review), book notes, a 2003 Book of Mormon bibliography, and the editor’s top picks of recent publications. A foretaste of the many …

Latest Addition To The Collected Works Of Hugh Nibley Series

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

FARMS is pleased to announce the release of a new volume of previously unpublished class lectures by celebrated Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley, who recently passed away at age 94. Apostles and Bishops in Early Christianity, volume 15 in the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley series, comprises Nibley’s finely detailed lecture notes for a course he taught at Brigham Young University in 1954 on the office of bishop in the early Christian church.

New Web Site Debuts

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

The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship unveiled its new Web site on 1 Nov-ember 2006. The new site, found at maxwellinsti-tute.byu.edu, features all the material that resided on the FARMS Web site as well as additional con-tent and links from all departments that make up the Institute.

New Book Compiles Scholarship On Oliver Cowdery

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

In conjunction with the recent BYU symposium “Oliver Cowdery: Restoration Witness, Second Elder,” the Maxwell Institute has published Oliver Cowdery: Scribe, Elder, Witness, edited by John W. Welch and Larry E. Morris. This book includes 17 important articles previously published by BYU Studies or FARMS and covers virtually all periods of Oliver Cowdery’s life.

Lehi’S Trek Dvd Reissued To Target Broader Audience

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

Journey of Faith, a FARMS documentary about Lehi’s travels through ancient Arabia, has been well received and has generated considerable interest since its release last summer (see report in Insights25/3). Now steps are under way to produce a reissue of the DVD, this time with translations of the commentary into Spanish and Portuguese with English closed-captioning.

Nibley Fellowship

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

Each year at this time we remind graduate students about the Nibley Fellowship Program and its application deadline. Named in honor of the late eminent Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley, this program provides financial aid to students enrolled in accredited PhD programs in areas of study directly related to the work and mission of the Maxwell Institute, particularly work done under the name of FARMS—studies of the Book of Mormon, the Book of Abraham, the Old and New Testaments, early Christianity, ancient temples, and related subjects. Applicants cannot be employed at the Institute or be related to an Institute employee.

Farms Review Answers Critics, Sizes Up Scholarship

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

At 500 pages, the new FARMS Review (vol. 17, no. 2) nearly bursts its binding with items of interest for anyone desiring to be well-informed on Mormon studies. The coverage ranges from Lehi’s encampments in Arabia and the resurgence of the all-but-dead Spalding theory to Jewish-Mormon relations, creation ex nihilo, and the Egyptian Hor Book of Breathings.

Farms Unveils New Web Site

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

In December 2005 FARMS released a new version of its Web site. In response to feedback from people who have used the site over the last several years, the new FARMS site boasts additional content and enhanced features.

Farms Documentary Premieres In Washington Dc

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

Golden Road: The Ancient Incense Trail, a new FARMS documentary about the legendary route used by Arabia’s incense traders, premiered at the Washington DC Temple Visitors’ Center on 5 November 2005 to a group of foreign and U.S. dignitaries.