Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Volunteer Public Communications Director Joins Farms Board Of Trustees

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

Daniel Oswald has been elected a member of the Foundation's Board of Trustees. Since 1989, he has served FARMS as a volunteer, as a member of the development committee and more recently as Director of Public Communications.

Recent Archaeological Discoveries Support Bible, John A. Tvedtnes

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

The number of archaeological excavations in Israel has increased dramatically over the last two decades. The January/February 1997 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR) lists 20 sites currently being excavated. As more sites are studied, more evidence for the historical authenticity of the Bible is uncovered.

Apostle Reflects On Christ In The Book Of Mormon

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

Anyone who loves the Book of Mormon will find great pleasure and insight in reading Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's new book, Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon. Elder Holland documents why the Book of Mormon is truly another testament of Jesus Christ, since He is the principal and commanding figure throughout the book, from first chapter to last.

New Book Explores The Connections Between Beauty And Truth In The Book Of Mormon

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

"My love of great literature and my testimony of the saving principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ converge in seeing the Book of Mormon as sacred literature. To take a literary approach enhanced by spiritual sensitivity is to engage our full capacities in understanding and feeling. It is to delight in how something is said in a way that reveals its essence. This approach is appropriate and helpful in respect to the Book of Mormon. In this work of literature, God-directed prophets speak to us in the most powerful and effective ways possible by interconnecting truth, goodness, and beauty."

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.

Book Of Mormon Authorship Reverified

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

Roger R. Keller, of the Department of Church History and Doctrine at BYU, has conducted extensive research on word use by Book of Mormon writers. In Book of Mormon Authors: Their Words and Messages, Keller shows how certain terms were used differently by different Book of Mormon authors and discusses how the authors' views of particular concepts relate to differences in the authors' background, interests, and mission.

Lds Church Website

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

The internet is fast becoming a common means of communication on the information superhighway. Accordingly, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints launched its first official website in early December 1996.

Correction

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

In the February issue of Insights we made an error in describing President Merrill J. Bateman's address at the FARMS banquet, for which we apologize. President Bateman spoke about the pattern of revelatory procedures required when a new dispensation must be established; as part of this pattern, "angels, often from earlier dispensations, transmit priesthood keys to move the Lord's work forward .... The Book of Mormon also has much to say about the role of the Holy Ghost in enabling this pattern to unfold" (p. 1). In the paragraphs that follow President Bateman discusses how the Holy Ghost affects these …

Scholars To Discuss Civilizations

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

From 7 to 11 May 1997 the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations will hold their twenty-sixth annual meeting at Brigham Young University. The conference includes forty-nine sessions and will feature presenters from colleges and universities throughout the world.

Application Deadline Announced

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

Each year FARMS grants fellowships to promising graduate students who are working in fields of interest to FARMS, in the name of Hugh Nibley. Interested students should submit transcripts, curriculum vitae, and letters of recommendation to M. Gerald Bradford at the FARMS office. The deadline for applying for awards for the 1997-98 academic year is 1 June 1997.

Farms Brown Bag Lectures Continue To Enlighten

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

Joseph Smith challenged the Saints to find connections between our world and the world of the Egyptians. In a FARMS Brown Bag lecture on 6 November 1996, Michael D. Rhodes and Michael P. Lyon reported on their attempts to aid us in achieving that goal by gathering and cataloging copies of as many of the world's existing hypocephali as possible into a reference work that will assist both LDS and non-LDS scholars in their research of ancient Egyptian studies. A hypocephalus is a circular Egyptian document placed under the head of a deceased person at burial to guide the person's …

Review Looks At Old And New Subjects

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

The most recent issue of the FARMS Review of Books examines books that attempt to promote the faith of Latter-day Saints in the Book of Mormon and presents lively critiques of books that attempt to destroy that faith. It reviews books on several aspects of scripture studies, particularly Book of Mormon geography. This issue reviews Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews and gives more commentary on the B. H. Roberts question. It also reviews a selection of internet pages that discuss Mormonism, a novel based on the Book of Mormon, and reflections on the Book of Mormon by a well …

Scholars To Speak About The Restoration

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

On 7 June FARMS and the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History at BYU will sponsor a conference on" Ancient Scriptures and the Restoration." Participants will take a detailed look at the role that ancient scripture played in the restoration of the gospel and in its subsequent development.

More On The Hanging Of Zemnarihah, John A. Tvedtnes

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

The Book of Mormon details the execution of a leader of the Gadianton robber band in the following words: "And their leader, Zemnarihah, was taken and hanged upon a tree, yea, even upon the top thereof until he was dead. And when they had hanged him until he was dead they did fell the tree to the earth, and did cry with a loud voice, saying: May the Lord preserve his people in righteousness and in holiness of heart, that they may cause to be felled to the earth all who shall seek to slay them because of power and …

Restoration Themes Explored

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

More than three hundred people attended "Pioneers of the Restoration," a conference sponsored by FARMS and BYU Religious Education that presented papers selected from a forthcoming volume in honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson, emeritus professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University.

Nine Scrolls From The Dead Sea Come To Byu

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

Few people in the United States have had the opportunity to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. But for thousands from Utah and nearby regions, that situation is about to change.

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.

Summer Fellowships In Church History Announced

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

The Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History at BYU will offer several eight-week fellowships (June 2-July 25, 1997) for advanced undergraduate and graduate students to do research on the cultural context of the restoration during the lifetime of Joseph Smith. Recipients will work in Provo, Utah, under the direction of Professor Richard Bushman of Columbia University. The fellowship carries a stipend of $2000 and free housing for those who require it.

Masada And Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibits Open Soon At Byu

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

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is coming to BYU-the Masada exhibition from the Hebrew University, plus rare Dead Sea Scrolls artifacts.

Research On Joseph Smith Refutes The Claims Of Critics

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

In response to a number of requests for information related to criticisms of the Prophet Joseph Smith, FARMS offers the following reprints (see the order form). We are encouraged by the apparent interest in this topic and hope these reprints will help answer questions about Joseph Smith's first vision accounts, his character and reputation, his 1826 trial, and the issue of prophecy.

Papers From July Conference Provide Sample Of Current Research On The Dead Sea Scrolls

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

In July 1996, FARMS and BYU sponsored an International Conference on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Members of the international team of scholars working on the scrolls shared their discoveries and insights and discussed new technologies that may assist them in their research. A sample of preliminary papers from that conference (available on the order form) offers fascinating and current insights into the Qumran community and the texts they produced. The full proceedings of the conference will be published later by E. J. Brill (Netherlands).

President's Message: Board Members Complete Service, Noel B. Reynolds

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

With the growth of FARMS over the last two years, it has seemed less appropriate to have FARMS employees serving on the board of trustees. Consequently, the three members of the board who are also full-time employees of FARMS have stepped down from board membership. This action has been discussed by the board and by the staff for the last year, and we finally decided that it would be a wise move to prevent any appearance of a conflict of interest that could stem from having employees serve on the board. Speaking for the board of trustees, I express appreciation …

President Bateman Speaks At Farms Banquet On The Holy Ghost's Mission

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

On 20 November, approximately 300 attendees at the 1996 Annual FARMS Banquet enjoyed a delicious meal, an evening of spirited conversation with friends old and new, stirring musical entertainment by the Utah Chamber Artists, and engaging addresses by FARMS President Noel B. Reynolds and the guest speaker, BYU President Merrill J. Bateman.

Farms And Byu Religious Education Sponsor Symposium On Early Church History

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

On Saturday, 8 March, a dozen LDS scholars will gather in the auditorium of the Joseph Smith Building at BYU to present papers on "Pioneers of the Restoration." The public is invited to attend free of charge to hear these presentations, which promise to enlighten and inform. The papers to be presented were originally prepared for inclusion in a volume of essays in honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson, professor emeritus of Ancient Scripture at BYU.

New Technology And Ancient Questions {Part 2), John L. Sorenson

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

The FARMS update in the previous issue of Insights discussed DNA studies of the ancestry of cotton species as an example of how new technologies can produce both answers and interesting new questions about the ancient worid. DNA comparison also serves to identify ancestral relationships among human groups. For example, Douglas C. Wallace of Emory University has concluded from studies of mitochondrial DNA that "prehistoric, intrepid mariners" came "out of Southeast Asia across the Pacific into the Americas 6,000 to 12,000 years ago." They could have come across the central Pacific or coasting along northeast Asia, Alaska, and Canada, he …

Journal Releases A Highly Substantive Issue

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

Once again the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies provides access to the most recent research on the Book of Mormon. The current issue covers a wide variety of topics, including the doctrinal messages of salvation in the Book of Mormon, a non-Mormon perspective on the Book of Mormon wars, the rod and sword as representations of the word of God, and a discussion of seemingly awkward sentence structures in the Book of Mormon.

The Doctrine And Covenants Is Reformatted Into A Helpful Reader's Edition

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

The second edition of The Doctrine and Covenants by Themes is an excellent aid to scripture study that may enliven your reading of the Doctrine and Covenants in support of the 1997 Sunday School curriculum. John W. and Jeannie Welch have formatted a reader's edition that is both informative and easy to read-ideal for families and young readers.

A Call To Revolution, Howard Robinson

LWLC Faculty Research

On October 12, 1974, three African American Muslim men took over WAPX, a Rhythm and Blues radio station located on Dexter Avenue in downtown Montgomery, Alabama. During the siege the men announced on air that the “revolution has begun,” and then encouraged the African American population to join them in an armed confrontation with local police. An ensuing shootout brought 300 law enforcement officers to Dexter Avenue, where they rained thousands of bullets into the radio station. The standoff lasted almost three hours before the hostages escaped, teargas was employed, and a negotiator convinced the three men to surrender. While …

Addressing Barriers To Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Massachusetts Community Mediation, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Jarling Ho, Shino Yokotsuka, Karina Zeferino

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

This report presents over three years of systematically engaging, documenting and analyzing the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) needs/gaps and assets of state funded community mediation centers in Massachusetts. The report was compiled by researchers and an in-house DEI expert at the statutory state office of dispute resolution, the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The office has been serving as a neutral forum and state-level resource for over 30 years.

The report is based on qualitative research that falls into the category of community based participatory research conducted through a series of community …

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.