Mormon Studies Commons^™

The Sticks Of Judah And Joseph: Reflections On Defending The Kingdom, Joseph M. Spencer

Faculty Publications

I wish to pursue two tasks simultaneously in this essay. First, in line with its title, I will address a very old matter of interpretation. I aim to explain as definitively as possible how to make sense of the relationship between Ezekiel 37:15–19, with its talk of the sticks of Judah and Joseph, and the claims of the Restoration, which include somehow connecting the stick of Joseph to the Book of Mormon. Second, in line with the subtitle of this essay, I wish to draw a crucial lesson from the history of how Latter-day Saints have dealt with this issue …

Nephi's Messiah, Tanner A. Barratt

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

The Book of Mormon powerfully testifies of Jesus Christ. He is mentioned every 1.7 verses and by scores of different names.[1] Among the many names by which Jesus is identified in sacred writings, the name by which we most commonly know him is Jesus Christ. The word Christ is Greek in origin and means anointed one. It is interesting to note that, just like the Greek word Christ, the Hebrew word Messiah is translated as anointed one. Even though these two titles have the same definition, they present themselves differently in the Book of Mormon.

"There Was One Samuel": Possible Multiple Sources For The Samuel Narrative, Dan Belnap, Daniel L. Belnap

Faculty Publications

During the second day of Christ’s ministry to the New World, a curious event took place. Having taught and commented on a number of biblical texts, Christ then had Nephi3 present his own record for review.1 The inspection uncovered a missing event that Christ brought to the attention of the gathered disciples: “Verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant Samuel, the Lamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the day that the Father should glorify his name in me that there were many saints who should arise from the dead, and should appear unto many, …

Book Of Mormon Geographies, Andrew H. Hedges

BYU Studies

Of the many unresolved issues facing members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today, perhaps none has generated as much speculation and controversy as the question regarding where, exactly, the events recorded in the Book of Mormon took place. Beginning in Joseph Smith’s lifetime and continuing to the present, scholars and interested members alike have offered a variety of possible locations for the more prominent places mentioned in the text, including the city of Zarahemla, the “narrow neck of land” (Ether 10:20), the river Sidon, and the site of the last battle between the Nephites and the …

The Book Of Mormon Translation Process, Grant Hardy

BYU Studies

Joseph Smith did not offer many details about the translation process for the Book of Mormon, other than affirming that it was done through “the gift and power of God.”¹In 1831, at a Church conference where he was invited to share more information, he declined, saying that “it was not expedient for him to relate these things.”² Along with the golden plates, he had been given a set of Nephite “interpreters” (Mosiah 8:13; Ether 4:5), which he described as “two stones in silver bows” (JS–H 1:35), apparently looking something like a pair of glasses or spectacles. According …

Captain Moroni And The Sermon On The Mount: Resolving A Scriptural Tension, Duane Boyce

BYU Studies

A natural tension seems to exist between two important features of the Book of Mormon. On one hand, Mormon includes in his record a version of the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus gave to the Nephites—an address that sets the standard for discipleship and that contains teachings obviously opposed to violence.1 In it, we hear about not resisting evil, turning the other cheek, going another mile when compelled to go one, loving our enemies—and so forth (3 Ne. 12:39–44). On the other hand, Mormon also presents various Nephite leaders as righteous even though they were immersed in violence. Captain …

Defend Your Families And Love Your Enemies: A New Look At The Book Of Mormon’S Patterns Of Protection, J. David Pulsipher

BYU Studies

A primary purpose of the Book of Mormon, as described on its title page, is to show “what great things the Lord hath done.”1 The whole narrative serves that goal, being saturated with frequent examples of divine goodness and guidance. Then, in the book’s stunning climax, God’s presence is made most explicit through the personal appearance of the resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ, during which he displays the physical emblems of his compassion and redemption, heals broken bodies and souls, and invites everyone to become “even as I am” (3 Ne. 27:27). The power of divine love is clearly a central …

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

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 …

World Enough, Tracy Fessenden

Mormon Studies Review

I value reviews that help me decide whether a book is likely to light up the classroom, so I will say it straightaway: Americanist Approaches to The Book of Mormon will. Classroom friendliness in the humanities feels especially pressing now, as the larger share of our students set foot in our fields to fulfill distribution requirements on their way to degrees in business or STEM. If your class in American literature or history or religious studies is the one experience of your discipline that students who take it are likely to seek, a semester’s offering built around this book will …

"The Lord Hath Made Bare His Holy Arm" Nephite Treatments Of Isaiah 52:7-10, Matthew Scott Stenson

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

The Book of Mormon deliberately draws its readers’ attention to the writings of Isaiah from beginning to end.[1] The Nephites had access to these writings by means of the brass plates obtained from Laban. Much of the book of Isaiah can be found quoted, paraphrased, or alluded to in the pages of the Nephite record.[2]

“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 …

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, …

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 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.

Seek Ye Words Of Wisdom, Stephen D. Ricks, Donald W. Parry, Gaye Strathearn, Shon D. Hopkin

Interpreter Foundation Books

Stephen David Ricks is a professor of Hebrew and cognate learning in the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages at Brigham Young University (BYU), where he has taught for almost four decades (1981–). It was at BYU, in a freshman Book of Mormon class, that he first met Shirley Smith. Four years later, after they had both served German- speaking missions (Stephen in Switzerland and Shirley in Southern Germany), they were married in the Provo Utah Temple in 1974. They are now the proud parents of six children—three girls and three boys, all of whom are married—and have twenty …

Review: F. Lamond Tullis. Martyrs In Mexico: A Mormon Story Of Revolution And Redemption. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 2018., Angela Tarango

Mormon Studies Review

F. LaMond Tullis’s book Martyrs in Mexico begins with an evocative quote from one of the Zapatista executioners of Rafael Monroy and Vincente Morales—that the two men died bravely and “with their boots on” (1). The men faced their execution by firing squad resolutely and refused to repudiate their “foreign” faith. Accused of hiding military weapons for the Zapatistas’ enemies, the men stated the only “arms” they harbored were their copies of the Book of Mormon and the Bible. For this they were executed during the height of the Mexican Revolution.

Review: Larry E. Morris. A Documentary History Of The Book Of Mormon. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019., Janiece Johnson

Mormon Studies Review

Initially called Mormonites and then Mormons, the most

famous epithet of the followers of Joseph Smith was always about the Book. Without the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith would likely have

become just one more in the far-flung field of nineteenth-century

prophets. Over time, however, a fantastical origin story has often garnered

more outside attention than the book’s content—an impulse that

started with the beginning of the Book itself. Moreover, the origin of

the Book of Mormon is consistently contested ground—albeit a much

more accessible nineteenth-century narrative than the origin stories of

many sacred texts. Smith himself never said much …

Race And The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In India, Taunalyn Rutherford, Joe Chelladurai, Vinna Chintaram

Mormon Studies Review

Paul Reeve has argued that the Book of Mormon’s imperative, “all are alike unto God,” “met its match in an American religious and racial culture which insisted otherwise.”1 The complexity of race and its construction in “Indian culture” over the course of a much longer history has created a formidable match for a Mormonism characterized at times by its “whiteness” and “Americanness.”2 Race in India is a multifarious and changing phenomenon. Contemporary scholars claim that India is facing “a race problem made up of a combination of ignorance and denial.”3 The policy of geographic boundaries rather than self-selection creates diverse …

The History Of The Book Of Mormon Text, Royal Skousen

BYU Studies

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 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 …

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).

“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 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 …

Into Arabia: Lehi And Sariah’S Escape From Jerusalem, Warren P. Aston

BYU Studies

In his exhaustively reasoned paper “Dating the Departure of Lehi from Jerusalem,” Jeffrey Chadwick moved the discussion of the timing of the Lehite departure significantly further. Those like myself, who have long assumed that the Book of Mormon’s dating for the departure (about six hundred years before Christ’s birth) is simply a round, approximate number, now have additional reasons to see that the dating may, in fact, be literal and that a definitive year for the event might be within reach.

Naturalistic Explanations Of The Origin Of The Book Of Mormon, Brian C. Hales

BYU Studies

In early 1830, an unknown farmer in upstate New York burst upon the world’s book-publishing scene. The Book of Mormon rolled off the Grandin Press in Palmyra, New York, with Joseph Smith listed as “author and proprietor” on the title page. That same year, a few other authors produced new titles, including The Fortunes of Perkin Warbeck by Mary Shelley, Letters and Journals of Lord Byron by Thomas Moore, and Six Sermons on the Study of the Holy Scriptures by Samuel Lee. If grouped with books classified as “fiction” in 1830, the Book of Mormon may have been the longest, …

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 …