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Farms Web Site Features Insightful Papers

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

Under both the Free Services and Member/services sections of the FARMS Web site is a link called Featured Papers, where each month (and sometimes more often) a different FARMS paper is featured . Visitors to the site can read the paper online or print it out. To print the paper in a reader-friendly format, choose the print icon at the top of the displayed paper rather than the print command from your operating system. The regular print command will print the paper but not preserve the formatting.

Divine Speech Texts In The Book Of Mormon

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

Readers of the Book of Mormon may be surprised to learn just how much of the text contains words attributed to deity.

In many cases the Book of Mormon writers took special care to state when they were quoting the Lord's words. For example, in Jacob 2 the prophet Jacob introduces the Lord's words by saying, "Hearken to · the word of the Lord." Then, in the lengthy quotation that follows, he is careful to insert several attribution markers, such as "thus saith the Lord of Hosts," before closing the direct quotation with the phrase "saith the Lord of Hosts" …

Evidence Surveyed For Book Of Mormon Authenticity, Old World-New World Contacts

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

Two recent magazine articles on topics of interest in Book of Mormon studies are available from FARMS as reprints (see the order form).

The first article, "Mounting Evidence for the Book of Mormon," by Daniel C. Peterson, appeared in the January 2000 issue of the Ensign magazine. The article explains the role of Book of Mormon scholarship, notes the tremendous surge in publications of that kind in recent years, and highlights secondary evidence that supports the book's claim to ancient origins and inspired translation.

To All The World: A Trove Of Book Of Mormon Studies

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

To All the World: The Book of Mormon Articles from the Encyclopedia of Mormonism conveniently gathers 151 informative articles on the Book of Mormon under one cover. This new book from FARMS offers concise, encyclopedic treatments of numerous topics that will enhance understanding and appreciation of the Book of Mormon.

The Zionist Mindset: How The Perception Of Israel Pushed Mormonism Toward Apocalypticism, Andrew Barber

Student Research Symposium

Since its very inception, and regardless of sect, the Mormon religious movement has always shared a similar ideology of Millennialism, the belief that Christ is preparing the world and especially Israel, for his imminent return. But especially, the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has felt a parallel between their religious persecution and exodus to the Salt Lake Valley, and the similar Jewish Exodus and religious persecution both in the Old Testament and during the Holocaust.

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.

Forthcoming Publications

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

Abraham in Egypt, by Hugh W. Nibley, second edition, edited by Gary P. Gillum. This book duplicates the original 1981 volume published by Deseret Book but adds chapters from Nibley's "A New Look at the Pearl of Great Price" series that appeared in the Improvement Era from 1968 to 1970. Nibley examines discoveries that have shed light on Abraham and his times and that help confirm the authenticity of the Book of Abraham. Available in spring 2000.

Byu Devotional Transcript On Ancient Records

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

Newly available from FARMS are transcripts of Daniel C. Peterson's BYU devotional address given on 3 August 1999. Peterson's remarks focused on BYU's role in the research and publication of ancient documents. "There is divine purpose in the things that I will treat today," Peterson began. "I believe that there is more going on here than our own merely human efforts can fully explain."

Third Volume Of Islamic Translation Series Released

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

With the release of a third volume, and with several more soon to follow, the continuity of the Islamic Translation Series is assured. The latest volume is an English translation of a newly prepared critical text of The Philosophy of Illumination, by Shihab al-Din al-Suhrawardi. Like the other books in the series, it belongs to a rich tradition of medieval Islamic philosophy and mysticism that has, until now, remained obscure in the Western world and largely unavailable in English translation.

Farms Web Site Features Information On The Dead Sea Scrolls

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

The FARMS Web site now offers a link to material on the Dead Sea Scrolls. To access it from the Member Services section or the Free Services section of the FARMS Web site, click on the heading "Dead Sea Scrolls," found under "Links of Interest." Nine topics will appear, covering general information on the scrolls as well as information on the scroll exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago and the traveling scroll exhibit currently touring Latter-day Saint stake centers in the Midwest.

Lds Church Sponsors Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit In Chicago

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

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the principal sponsors of an exhibit on the Dead Sea Scrolls that opened on 10 March at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois. Running through 11 June 2000, the exhibit features 15 scroll texts and 80 artifacts excavated at Qumran, a site of ancient ruins located near the caves where the scrolls were first discovered.

Questions On The Dead Sea Scrolls? A New Book Responds

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

For more than 50 years the Dead Sea Scrolls have aroused public curiosity. This discovery of ancient biblical texts and other writings at sites near the Dead Sea is no less intriguing for Latter-day Saints, whose scriptures speak of ancient records yet to come forth. A new book from FARMS, The Dead Sea Scrolls: Questions and Responses for Latter-day Saints, provides long-awaited answers to questions about the scrolls that Latter-day Saints commonly ask.

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.

Benefits Of Subscription

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

Regular Subscription ($25 per year)

• The / NSIGHTS newsletter, twelve times per year

• Free one-year subscription to the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

• 20 percent discount on FARMS books and many others ordered through FARMS

• Access to the FARMS Reference Service for information on what has been published by FARMS

• Automatic mailing of all FARMS catalogs and notices of special sales

• Access to the Member Services section of the FARMS Web site

Friend-Raiser

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

People you know might like to receive this newsletter. You are our best means of letting others know about the services that the Foundation can provide, and it is a big help to all if you can send us the names of your friends who you think might be interested in the work of the Foundation. We will send them an introductory packet describing FARMS and extending an invitation to subscribe.

Farms Order Form

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

John W. Welch and Melvin J. Thorne, eds., Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon: The FARMS Updates of the 1990s, 1999, 4-audiotape set, 240 min., vinyl case.

New Audiotapes Feature Book Of Mormon Research

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

FARMS has recently released two new audiotape sets on the Book of Mormon. The first, Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon: The FARMS Updates of the 1990s, is read by Lloyd D. Newell, voice of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's weekly "Music and the Spoken Word" broadcast. It features selections from the recent FARMS book of the same title, highlighting some of the most significant Book of Mormon research from the past decade. The audiotape set combines the INSIGHTS Updates of the 1990s with some similar short notes from the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies.

Why Is Esther Missing From The Qumran Scrolls?

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

The book of Esther is conspicuously absent from the biblical Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in the Judean Desert caves. It is the only book of the Bible for which there are no scroll fragments. Martin Abegg Jr., Peter Flint, and Eugene Ulrich, three of the world's foremost Dead Sea Scrolls scholars, propose several possible reasons why Esther might have been deliberately excluded from the Dead Sea Scroll community at Qumran.

Farms Web Site Offers Video Lectures, Periodicals In Member Services Section

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

The newly designed FARMS Web site is divided into three · major sections: Free Services, FARMS Member Services, and Catalog. In the Member Services section, FARMS subscribers can access lectures on video, plus articles from the three periodicals published by FARMS, the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, FARMS Review of Books, and INSIGHTS. Member Services also contains all the items offered in the Free Services section but includes more content for each item.

Reflections Of Nephi's Vision In His Psalm, John A. Tvedtnes

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

Second Nephi 4:16-35 comprises a beautiful psalm written by Nephi. Portions of the psalm suggest that he was contemplating his earlier vision of the tree of life and the future of his people, recorded in 1 Nephi 11-14. Among the elements common to both the psalm and the vision are the appearance of angels in visions, mention of the condescension of God, temptations, the devil (" evil one") and hell, and the straight path.

Farms And Byu Participate In The 1999 Aar And Sbl Annual Meetings In Boston

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

Since 1995 FARMS representatives have attended the joint annual meetings of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL). AAR and SBL are longstanding learned societies with members from colleges, universities, seminaries, and other academic institutions in the U.S. and abroad. Each year they jointly hold their annual meetings, which constitute the largest gathering of religion scholars in the world, offering sessions on subjects ranging from the history of Christianity and the study of Islam to biblical texts and their ancient contexts.

New Book On Book Of Mormon Geography Provides Maps, Helpful Explanations

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

As Mormon edited the Book of Mormon, he must have had a map in his mind of the places and physical features that were the setting for the events described in that book. In Mormon's Map, a new book from FARMS, John L. Sorenson attempts to reconstruct that mental map" Mormon's Map"-using information in the Book of Mormon text.

Full Issue

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

No abstract provided.

Your Year 2000 Membership Card

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

Dear FARMS member,

Enclosed is your member discount card. Please use this card for a 20% discount at the LDS bookstores listed below. Your membership number printed on the outside envelope is good for accessing the Member Services portion of the FARMS Web site-http:/ /farms.byu.edu. To validate your card, please write that number on your membership card on the back side where indicated. We appreciate your support and look forward to another successful year of meaningful research and publication. Please contact us with any questions or concerns.

Farms Order Form

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

Hugh W. Pinnock, Finding Biblical Hebrew and Other Ancient Literary Forms in the Book of Mormon, 1999, 201 pp., hardbound.

Brown Bag Wrap-Up

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

The last five brown bag lectures of 1999 covered a range of interesting topics related to Bible and Book of Mormon studies. Sponsored by FARMS, these noontime lectures at BYU continue to keep the campus community and others abreast of current research on the scriptures.

Tibetan-Mongolian Glossary Donated

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

Recently FARMS received a 16th-century glossary of Tibetan religious terms from Malan Jackson, director of the Center for International Studies at Utah Valley State College. The glossary, which translates many Tibetan words into Mongolian, was originally compiled to assist Mongolian Buddhist monks who chanted Tibetan scriptures but did not know the original meanings. The unbound glossary is wrapped in a worn, brown cloth and measures two feet long, four inches wide, and one inch thick. Each page contains three rows of Tibetan and Mongolian characters finely penned in red and black ink.

Farms Web Site Sports New Look And Services

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

FARMS has redesigned its Web site in an attempt to better serve its members and visitors to the site. New graphics and navigational features make it easier to find, access, and view information. A considerable amount of new content has been added.

Farms Through The Years, Part 3: A Conversation With Daniel Peterson And Daniel Oswald

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

When did you first become involved with FARMS? Peterson: In the late 1970s and early 80s, Stephen Ricks and I and, a little bit later, Bill Hamblin and I began to talk about the need for an organization like FARMS. We didn't realize that Jack Welch was already launching the Foundation. My actual involvement with FARMS began on a very low level while I was a doctoral student in California, and then accelerated rapidly when I became a member of the BYU faculty in the fall of 1985.

New Book Continues Series On Temples

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

FARMS's recent publication of The Temple in Time and Eternity ends a long wait for those who enjoyed the 1994 book Temples of the Ancient World, the inaugural volume of the "Temples through the Ages" series.