Arts and Humanities Commons^™

“Wicked Traditions” And “Cunning Arts”: Wise Men, Sorcery, And Metalwork In Nephite Society, Dan Belnap, Daniel L. Belnap, Daniel Belnap, Dan Belnap

Faculty Publications

In the ninetieth year of the reign of the judges, four years after the ministry of Samuel the Lamanite, the “great signs and wonders” that he had prophesied of concerning the coming of Christ began to appear. Yet even as they convinced some, others expressed doubt as to what the signs meant, believing instead that the coming of Christ was a “wicked tradition, which has been handed down unto us by our fathers, to cause us that we should believe in some great and marvelous thing which should come to pass . . . therefore they can keep us in …

Orson Pratt And The Expansion Of The Doctrine And Covenants, Brian C. Passantino

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a faith that is distinguished by its religious texts. The nickname "Mormon," that has been applied to adherents of the faith, comes from the name of its most cherished canonical book, the Book of Mormon. Aside from the Bible and the Book of Mormon, Latter-day Saints accept two other books of scriptures – the Pearl of Great Price and the Doctrine and Covenants. These four books constitute the authorized scriptures of the faith, or as they refer to them, "the standard works."

My thesis focuses on the book entitled the Doctrine …

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

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

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

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 …

Israelite Inscriptions From The Time Of Jeremiah And Lehi, Dana M. Pike

Faculty Publications

The greater the number of sources the better when investigating the history and culture of people in antiquity. Narrative and prophetic texts in the Bible and 1 Nephi have great value in helping us understand the milieu in which Jeremiah and Lehi received and fulfilled their prophetic missions, but these records are not our only documentary sources. A number of Israelite inscriptions dating to the period of 640–586 b.c., the general time of Jeremiah and Lehi, provide additional glimpses into this pivotal and primarily tragic period in Israelite history.

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

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

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.”

The Isaiah Map: An Approach To Teaching Isaiah, John Hilton Iii

Faculty Publications

I saiah 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 …

The History Of The Book Of Mormon Text, Royal Skousen

BYU Studies Quarterly

In this paper, I will provide an overview of the two latest published books in the Book of Mormon critical text project:

Part 5: The King James Quotations in the Book of Mormon

Part 6: Spelling in the Manuscripts and Editions

As the numbers indicate, these two books form a part of a much larger publishing project. The fundamental work in the project is The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text, published in 2009 by Yale University Press and now in its fourth printing. Supporting this single volume of the text are the volumes of the critical text project …

The Presentation Of Gender In The Book Of Mormon: A Review Of Literature, Joseph M. Spencer

Faculty Publications

To date, the two most important—Certainly the most influential—visual illustrators of the Book of Mormon have been Arnold Friberg and Minerva Teichert. The distance between the ways they render the text into art is real and telling. As Paul Gutjahr notes, "Friberg's most dominant figures are unfailingly men, and almost all of them could have stepped out of the pages of a superhero comic book. By contrast, Teichert "stands out among Mormon artists because of her firm commitment to bringing forward the female elements of the book, carefully evoking the story's feminine side." Although Teichert and Friberg created their paintings …