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The Book Of Mormon: A Powerful Model For Distance Education, Adam R. Jardine
The Book Of Mormon: A Powerful Model For Distance Education, Adam R. Jardine
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many within the Church Educational System to participate in online delivery for classroom instruction. Success has varied, and many teachers have faced not only the difficulties of a new and possibly unfamiliar delivery method but also the challenge of becoming online course designers. The realities of COVID-19 forced educational systems, both secular and religious, to pivot their educational strategy, causing online delivery to become the primary educational delivery method in many areas. What many educators initially experienced during the pandemic was not regular online delivery, but rather “emergency remote teaching.” Though the COVID-19 pandemic produced …
Scripture Note: Alma’S And Helaman’S Priestly Blessings, Jesus’S Divine Acts In 3 Nephi 19:25, 30, Matthew L. Bowen
Scripture Note: Alma’S And Helaman’S Priestly Blessings, Jesus’S Divine Acts In 3 Nephi 19:25, 30, Matthew L. Bowen
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
A few years ago, Matthew J. Grey drew renewed attention to the language of 3 Nephi 19:25 as reflecting the language of Numbers 6:24–27,2 a text sometimes called the Priestly Blessing. As far as I am aware, no study has thus far examined the influence of the Priestly Blessing in the Book of Mormon beyond 3 Nephi 19. Nevertheless, it appears that such influence exists. In this brief study, I examine how the influence of the Priestly Blessing in the Book of Mormon extends beyond Mormon’s description of Jesus’s priestly ministration at the temple in Bountiful to at least three …
Contrasting The Leadership Styles Of Captain Moroni And Amalickiah, David L. Rockwood, J. Gordon Daines Iii
Contrasting The Leadership Styles Of Captain Moroni And Amalickiah, David L. Rockwood, J. Gordon Daines Iii
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
The Book of Mormon was written as another testament of Jesus Christ. It was also written by leaders and about leaders. One of the most well-known leaders and charismatic figures in the Book of Mormon is Captain Moroni (hereafter referred to simply as Moroni). His capable leadership enabled the Nephites to survive civil insurrection and invasion by the Lamanites. Mormon, the compiler of the Book of Mormon, holds up Moroni as one of the text’s exemplary leaders. He points to Moroni’s leadership and righteousness as the reason for Nephite success during this trying era.
The Nephite Prophets’ Understanding Of Faith And Faithfulness, Noel B. Reynolds
The Nephite Prophets’ Understanding Of Faith And Faithfulness, Noel B. Reynolds
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
Readers of the Book of Mormon agree that faith in Jesus Christ is a basic principle of the gospel, or doctrine of Christ, taught therein. And they agree, at least superficially, on the meaning of the word faith to the extent that is allowed by their modern, westernized worldview and background in New Testament Christianity. However, as I engaged in an in-depth study of the gospel of Jesus Christ as the Nephites understood it, I realized that (1) our modern cultural understandings shield us from those of the Nephite prophets in many ways, (2) the Nephite concept of faith is …
Nephi And Effective Followership, Christopher J. Peterson
Nephi And Effective Followership, Christopher J. Peterson
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
Who is the greatest leader who ever lived?” and “Who is the greatest follower who ever lived?” asked Stephen W. Owen, who in April 2016 was serving as the Young Men General President. The answer to both questions, he said, is Jesus Christ. “He is the greatest leader because He is the greatest follower. . . . In God’s eyes, the greatest leaders have always been the greatest followers.” As religious educators, we are given various opportunities to lead, whether on our faculties or in our classrooms. Those seeking to improve their leadership ability have access to innumerable books, articles, …
The Book Of Mormon And The Academy, Nicholas J. Frederick, Joseph M. Spencer
The Book Of Mormon And The Academy, Nicholas J. Frederick, Joseph M. Spencer
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
It doesn’t take a lot of looking to see that something has changed—potentially for the better—about the scholarly world’s relationship to the Book of Mormon. Over the past twenty years, academic presses with no relationship to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have begun publishing serious and high-quality work on this sacred volume of scripture. Various journals have begun to do so as well. Several different scholarly editions of the Book of Mormon are now in print, and both the manuscripts for the Book of Mormon and the volume’s earliest historical editions are readily accessible. We have witnessed …
A Simple But Powerful Path To Forgiveness (Alma 36), Brad W. Farnsworth
A Simple But Powerful Path To Forgiveness (Alma 36), Brad W. Farnsworth
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
As children of our Heavenly Father, we come to this earth to be tested—to prove that we will do the things he commands us to do (see Abraham 3:25). Inevitably, we fall short. But through faith in Jesus Christ, we can repent and become clean again so that we may return to God’s presence. The Father’s plan of happiness invites his children to seek his Son with faith, even “faith unto repentance [to bring] about the great and eternal plan of redemption” (Alma 34:16).
The Isaiah Map: An Approach To Teaching Isaiah, John Hilton Iii
The Isaiah Map: An Approach To Teaching Isaiah, John Hilton Iii
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
Isaiah is an extremely important prophet—his words were endorsed by the Savior himself (see 3 Nephi 23:1). Because Isaiah’s words can be difficult to comprehend, religious educators have a significant responsibility to help their students understand them. Perhaps the best opportunity to teach Isaiah in a Sunday School, seminary, or institute setting is during a course in the Old Testament. The next best opportunity is when teaching the Book of Mormon. “Nineteen of Isaiah’s sixty-six chapters are quoted in their entirety in the Book of Mormon and, except for two verses, two other chapters are completely quoted. Of the 1,292 …
“Between The Time Of Death And The Resurrection”: A Doctrinal Examination Of The Spirit World, Mark A. Mathews
“Between The Time Of Death And The Resurrection”: A Doctrinal Examination Of The Spirit World, Mark A. Mathews
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
All men know that they must die,” explained the Prophet Joseph Smith, “and it is . . . but reasonable to suppose that God would reveal something in reference to the matter.”
Scripture Note: A Fresh Approach To Moroni’S Promise, Alan Taylor Farnes
Scripture Note: A Fresh Approach To Moroni’S Promise, Alan Taylor Farnes
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
Moroni’s promise is a well-known and much-loved passage of scripture to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It has been called “probably the most celebrated and oft-cited verses in the Book of Mormon.”1 Most missionaries know it by memory and often challenge their investigators to take “Moroni’s challenge.” Moroni tells his readers that when they read the Book of Mormon they should ponder on the Lord’s mercy since the Creation and then ask God if the Book of Mormon is not true. Then comes Moroni’s promise: “If ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with …
The Book Of Mormon And Patriarchal Blessings: Reflections By An Ordained Patriarch, Richard Dilworth Rust
The Book Of Mormon And Patriarchal Blessings: Reflections By An Ordained Patriarch, Richard Dilworth Rust
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
In my service as a stake patriarch before going on several missions with my wife and subsequently in giving patriarchal blessings to several of my grandchildren, I have learned how the Book of Mormon as a whole and in its parts can be likened in many ways to a patriarchal blessing. Likewise, a patriarchal blessing given by an ordained patriarch can be likened to the Book of Mormon. An increased understanding of the one can help us better understand and value the other. In looking at the Book of Mormon and patriarchal blessings together, one can see even more clearly …
Lds Hispanic Americans And Lamanite Identity, Tyler Balli
Lds Hispanic Americans And Lamanite Identity, Tyler Balli
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
In September 1972, the Ensign published a piece called “What Is a Lamanite?” Using an “imaginary conversation” between different individuals of Latin American descent and a Church leader, this article got to the heart of the complexity of Lamanite identification within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When this piece was published in the 1970s—and even long before—some Church leaders strongly encouraged Hispanics to identify as Lamanites, a name referring to a people found in the Church’s founding scripture—the Book of Mormon. Even with the Church’s encouragement, however, not all Hispanics jumped to identify as Lamanites. The “What …
The Book Of Mormon In American Missions At The Turn Of The Twentieth Century, John C. Thomas
The Book Of Mormon In American Missions At The Turn Of The Twentieth Century, John C. Thomas
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
Historians describe the opening decades of the twentieth century as a challenging time of transition for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Manifesto on plural marriage in 1890 and the successful bid for Utah’s statehood in 1896 pointed toward rapprochement with American culture. But in an era of potential assimilation, tensions lingered as Mormons labored to “translate the things America demanded of them into the language and imperatives of their own faith.” Thomas G. Alexander observed that ongoing controversy in the era prompted Church leaders to search for “a new paradigm that would save essential characteristics of …
Questions In The Book Of Mormon, Holt Zaugg
Questions In The Book Of Mormon, Holt Zaugg
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
Questions are the catalyst that drives learning, providing a focus on what an individual wants or needs to know. They are the drivers that move knowledge acquisition to realms of greater understanding and wisdom. Karen Brown, a professor at Dominican University, describes questions as the heart of learning and the impetus for building knowledge. Teachers and students use questions to vet information and allow them to develop the ability to see when change is coming and to manage changes when they occur. Questions help people to zone in on important details that help to sharpen and refine their thinking.
“ America Reads” And The Book Of Mormon, D. Todd Christofferson
“ America Reads” And The Book Of Mormon, D. Todd Christofferson
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
Between 1828 and 1831, the American Bible Society launched an aggressive campaign to put a copy of the Old and New Testament in every American home. During those three years, over 500,000 copies of “the Good Book” were printed and distributed across the country, illustrating just how much Protestant Americans considered themselves to be a God-fearing and Bible-believing people. At the same time of the American Bible Society’s ambitious initiative, a young man named Joseph Smith from upstate New York was translating and printing an additional sacred book of scripture, eventually published as the Book of Mormon.
Scripture Note—“For This Cause Did King Benjamin Keep Them”: King Benjamin Or King Mosiah?, Daniel Sharp
Scripture Note—“For This Cause Did King Benjamin Keep Them”: King Benjamin Or King Mosiah?, Daniel Sharp
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
In the 2013 edition of the scriptures published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ether 4:1 reads, “And the Lord commanded the brother of Jared to go down out of the mount from the presence of the Lord, and write the things which he had seen; and they were forbidden to come unto the children of men until after that he should be lifted up upon the cross; and for this cause did king Mosiah keep them, that they should not come unto the world until after Christ should show himself unto his people.” But the 1830 …
Review Of An Other Testament: On Typology, Andrew C. Smith
Review Of An Other Testament: On Typology, Andrew C. Smith
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
Typology has held a place of importance in the Christian tradition as a method of theology, scriptural exegesis, and history from the composition of the New Testament onward. In An Other Testament: On Typology, Joseph Spencer examines the place of typology within the Book of Mormon in order to understand the book’s theological complexity: “By theological complexity, I do not primarily mean that the ideas presented in the Book of Mormon are complex, though sometimes they are. Rather, I mean that it can be difficult to bring into focus some of the Book of Mormon’s overarching theological claims, given the …
“The Intent For Which It Was Given”: How The Book Of Mormon Teaches The Value Of Scripture And Revelation, Nicholas J. Frederick
“The Intent For Which It Was Given”: How The Book Of Mormon Teaches The Value Of Scripture And Revelation, Nicholas J. Frederick
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
The book of Jarom is a short chapter, consisting of only fifteen verses, that nonetheless manages to summarize the affairs of the Nephites over an approximately forty-year period. In the midst of his outline of the current Nephite status quo, Jarom makes mention of the religious climate of the time: “Wherefore, the prophets, and the priests, and the teachers, did labor diligently, exhorting with all long-suffering the people to diligence; teaching the law of Moses, and the intent for which it was given; persuading them to look forward unto the Messiah, and believe in him to come as though he …
“After All We Can Do” (2 Nephi 25:23), Jared W. Ludlow
“After All We Can Do” (2 Nephi 25:23), Jared W. Ludlow
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
A Book of Mormon verse that has led to immense discussion and scrutiny is 2 Nephi 25:23: “For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” It is particularly the last part of the verse, “after all we can do,” that has garnered the most attention since it seems to qualify the statement on grace and leads interpreters to define what grace means in LDS belief and consequently …
Book Of Mormon Citations In General Conference, 1965–2014, Sharon Black, Brad Wilcox, Kyle Lyons
Book Of Mormon Citations In General Conference, 1965–2014, Sharon Black, Brad Wilcox, Kyle Lyons
Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel
Joseph Smith referred to the Book of Mormon as the keystone of our religion; however, the book was not frequently studied in worship services or in gospel instruction in the early Church. In the 1970s, focus on the scriptures increased as the curriculum for adult gospel study shifted from manuals discussing the scriptures to the actual scripture texts. The Book of Mormon became part of the correlated curriculum for Sunday School Gospel Doctrine lessons, and Seminaries and Institutes also increased their use of scriptural content. In response, Church leaders oversaw the preparation of a fully cross-referenced version of the standard …