Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Reflections: Cosmic Optimism

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

In a world filled with violence, poverty, suffering, illness, accidental death, disappointment, frustration, and hatred, pessimism is an ever-beckoning possibility. And, for some, pessimism shades eventually into utter despair, hopelessness, and cynicism.

New Documentary To Premier At Education Week

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

Journey of Faith: The New World, a new Maxwell Institute documentary, is set to premier at BYU Campus Education Week in August. The Maxwell Institute has again teamed with award-winning Latter-day Saint filmmaker Peter Johnson to produce a documentary that will explore the Book of Mormon in the New World.

Skinner Concludes Museum Of Art Lecture Series

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

On March 21 Andrew C. Skinner, executive director of the Maxwell Institute and professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, addressed the topic of “Crucifixion and Resurrection” in the Museum of Art lecture series on the life of Christ. Skinner began by saying that “the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth are the lynchpin of everything we believe and everything we do in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

Center For Book Of Mormon Studies Created

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

Accompanied by Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, President Cecil O. Samuelson recently announced the formation of the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies, a research center that promises to bring national and international distinction to the study of the Book of Mormon. President Samuelson made the announcement at a luncheon attended by Mark and Laura Willes and their family.

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

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Book Excerpt: Analysis Of Textual Variants Of The Book Of Mormon

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

At the beginning of Alma 43:14, the original manuscript reads desenters, which Oliver Cowdery miscopied into the printer’s manuscript as desendants; in other words, he ended up replacing dissenters with descendants. This mistake (a visual error) was facilitated by the similar spelling Oliver used for both these words. Notice that earlier in this verse Oliver wrote dissented as desented in P (but which the 1830 typesetter respelled in P as dissented). Moreover, at the end of verse 13, Oliver spelled descendants as desendants in both manuscripts. The proximity of this last instance prompted the error at the beginning of verse …

Welch Expounds The Sermon On The Mount At Museum Of Art Lecture

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

On January 31, John W. Welch addressed the topic “The Five Faces of the Savior in the Sermon on the Mount” as part of the Museum of Art lecture series on the life of Christ, which has now concluded. Welch, Robert K. Thomas professor of law at BYU, editor in chief of BYU Studies, and the founder of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, spoke about five specific layers of instruction within the Sermon text in Matthew 5–7. As Welch related, “the Sermon on the Mount is not a scrapbook” of moral maxims, but more importantly it reveals …

Second Volume Of Maimonides Series Continues To Illuminate Ancient Medicine

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

With the publication of Medical Aphorisms: Treatises 6–9, the second volume of the Medical Works of Moses Maimonides series, the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative (METI) at the Maxwell Institute continues its project of bringing to light original texts and translations from the scientific, philosophical, and theological traditions of the three great religious civilizations that trace their ancestry to Abraham: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Now with added funding from the Library of Congress, METI continues to actively edit and prepare for publication works in all three of these branches of faith-oriented learning.

Ephrem And The Patriarchal Wives, Kristian S. Heal

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

Ephrem the Syrian, who died in ad 373 in Edessa, wrote one of earliest extant commentaries on Genesis and Exodus. In this commentary he weaves a new biblical story by selecting from both the narrative background and foreground—not in an arbitrary way, but as a very deliberate process. One of the new themes that Ephrem weaves into his retelling is the unwavering righteousness and spiritual receptiveness of the patriarchal wives.

Contributions Sought For Completion Of The Collected Works Of Hugh Nibley

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

The scholars and staff at the Maxwell Institute have energetically set the goal of finishing the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley within the next three years. March 27, 2010, will be the 100th anniversary of Hugh Nibley’s birthday, and we would like to have the approximately 20-volume set completed by that date. Under the direction of John W. Welch, general editor of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, various supplemental electronic releases and a series of conferences in 2010 focusing on the lasting legacies of Nibley’s scholar-ship are also planned.

New Book Features Work Of Poet, Theologian, Daniel C. Peterson

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

The Maxwell Institute’s Middle Eastern Texts Initiative has released the newest book in its Eastern Christian Texts series, a bilingual Syriac/English edition of Select Poems of Ephrem the Syrian. From the second to the eighth century ad, when Arabic supplanted it, Syriac was a major literary language across the Middle East; it is essentially a Christian form of Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus, the original apostles, and the first Jewish Christians.

Institute Supports Graduates And Undergraduates

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

The Maxwell Institute continues to encourage and support the work of graduate and undergraduate students through two funds.

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 pro-gram 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 auspices of one department of the Institute, the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, such as studies of the …

President Samuelson Remembers Elder Maxwell In Institute Lecture

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

Recalling how his longtime friend and mentor inspired others without preaching or condemning, President Cecil O. Samuelson shared memories of Elder Neal A. Maxwell at a lecture on March 23, 2007. The president of Brigham Young University and a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, President Samuelson spoke at the inaugural annual lecture of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship.

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

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Farms Review Takes Up Doctrinal Issues, Restoration Accounts, Science Vs. Religion

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

As editor of the FARMS Review, Daniel C. Peterson is well acquainted with critics’ opinions about it, FARMS in general, and, by extension, the Maxwell Institute. In his introduction to the latest FARMS Review (vol. 18, no. 2, 2006), Peterson responds to the critics by exploring the meaning of the term apologetics (“arguing . . . for or against any position”) and demonstrating at length how the term applies to the Maxwell Institute and its publications. He cautions that the term is relevant only to a portion of the Maxwell Institute’s work. “The garden of faith, like most gardens, requires …

Mary And Elisabeth Topic Of Museum Of Art Lecture

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

As part of the ongoing Museum of Art lecture series on the life of Christ, S. Kent Brown, director of FARMS, addressed the topic “The Birth of the Savior” on January 17. Drawing from Luke 1 and 2 and studies on life among ancient Jews, he focused on Mary and Elisabeth, whose lives are only faintly sketched in the scriptures.

Maya Origin Story Now On Searchable Cd-Rom

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

The Popol Vuh, an epic poem that tells the creation story of the Maya, will soon be avail-able in a searchable database published on CD-ROM by the Maxwell Institute’s Center for the Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts (CPART). Prepared by Allen J. Christenson, the database incorporates his recently published edition and translation of the Popol Vuh. The database offers the first-ever publication of a complete set of images of the earliest manuscript of the Popol Vuh, kindly provided by the New-berry Library in Chicago.

Repetitive Resumption In The Book Of Mormon, David E. Bokovoy

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

One of the most important contributions of biblical scholarship since the time of Joseph Smith has been the recognition and analysis of editorial activity in the Old Testament. Like the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Mormon is a compilation of several literary sources produced under the auspices of ancient editors or redactors. Significantly, one of the primary signs of editorial activity in the Old Testament, a technique known as repetitive resumption, is also attested in the Book of Mormon.

Byu Unveils Exhibition Of Two Ancient Roman Bronze Plates

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

Now showing at BYU’s Harold B. Lee Library is an exhibit titled “Two Ancient Roman Plates: Bronze Military Diplomas and Other Sealed Documents.” The set of well-preserved artifacts was given to BYU by donors assembled by John W. Welch,editor in chief of BYU Studies, who has served, along with BYU classics professor John F. Hall, as curator of the exhibit.

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

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Work On Byu’S Messiah Documentary Continues

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

The filming for the Messiah documentary has been completed, and the important work of editing has begun. Team members had traveled to Israel, Egypt, and Denmark to film the visual backdrop for the nine-part film as well as to capture the hosts’ comments that will introduce a wide array of topics in the documentary. Those hosts included Gaye Strathearn (assistant professor of ancient scripture), John Tanner (professor of English), Andrew Skinner (professor of ancient scripture), and Kent Brown (professor emeritus of ancient scripture).

Update: The “Familiar Spirit” In 2 Nephi 26:12, Paul Y. Hoskisson

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

There are two ways to read a text, through exegesis and through eisegesis. The first means, approximately, “reading out of the text,” while the second means, approximately, “reading into the text.” Both are legitimate ways of approaching a text. Anyone who reads the scriptures will at times engage in both exegesis and eisegesis, whether knowingly or unwittingly. Therefore, the more conscientiously and consciously we engage in rigorous and careful exegesis and eisegesis, the better the chance that our reading of the scriptures will truly enlighten the mind and provide substance for the soul. I will illustrate both approaches using the …

Latest Farms Review Offers Well-Rounded Fare

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

The latest incarnation of the FARMS Review (vol. 20, no. 2, 2008) sizes up recent books dealing with evolutionary science, plural marriage, Book of Mormon geography, and even the lost ark of the covenant. It also reviews the latest volume in the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley and introduces a new feature called the Neal A. Maxwell Institute Lecture, which this time features two talks by General Authorities who were guest speakers at the Maxwell Institute’s annual lectures in 2007 and 2008.

Scholars Focus Conference On Third Nephi

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

The Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies hosted a two-day conference on 3 Nephi at the end of September 2008. Entitled “Third Nephi: New Perspectives on an Incomparable Scripture,” the conference consisted of a plenary session with an introductory address by John W. Welch, subsequent presentations by 21 distinguished scholars covering six themes, and a concluding session featuring a panel discussion.

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

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Maxwell Institute Well Represented At Fair Conference

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

Several scholars associated with the Maxwell Institute spoke at the FAIR conference held in Sandy, Utah, in August. As explained on its Web site (www.fairlds.org), FAIR (the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research) is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of Latter-day Saint doctrine, belief, and practice.

A Chat With The New Editors Of The Maxwell Institute Journals

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

Accompanying this issue of Insights is volume 17 (combining numbers one and two) of the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies; however, readers will note that the Journal now carries a new name, the Journal of the Book of Mormon and Restoration Scripture. In connection with this change, the Institute asked Andrew H. Hedges, an associate professor of Church History and Doctrine at BYU, to become the new editor, replacing Professor S. Kent Brown, who served as editor and associate editor for many years, and who recently retired from the university. The new associate editors are Grant Hardy, professor of …

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

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Book Of Mormon Project Continues With New Volume

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

The Maxwell Institute and Brigham Young University are pleased to announce the release of part 5 of volume 4 of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project, Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon. Part 5 analyzes the text from Alma 56 through 3 Nephi 18.

New Director Appointed For The Willes Center And The Foundation For Ancient Research And Mormon Studies

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

Recently the Brigham Young University administration announced the appointment of Professor Paul Y. Hoskisson as the new director of the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies and the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies at the Maxwell Institute, effective September 1. Professor S. Kent Brown, who previously headed up these operations, retired from the university at the end of August.