Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
- Publication Year
- Publication
- Publication Type
Articles 31 - 60 of 223
Full-Text Articles in Religious Education
Research On Joseph Smith Refutes The Claims Of Critics
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.
Reprint Rebuts Critics' Claims, Reveals Tactics
Reprint Rebuts Critics' Claims, Reveals Tactics
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
FARMS is pleased to offer a reprint of Offenders for a Word, by Daniel C. Peterson and Stephen D. Ricks. This book explains the tactics many anti-Mormons employ in attacking the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It also answers critics' objections to Latter-day Saint beliefs in the Godhead, polygamy, salvation by grace and works, eternal progression, the idea of a premortal existence, the role of Joseph Smith, the nature of the Holy Ghost, and much more.
Did Joseph Smith Know Egyptian?
Did Joseph Smith Know Egyptian?
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
In a letter addressed to Grant S. Heward of Midvale, Utah, an outspoken critic of the book of Abraham, William Foxwell Albright, the doyen of American ancient Near Eastern studies, wrote: "There does appear to be evidence that Joseph Smith had studied some Egyptian. For one thing, he undoubtedly spent a great deal of money and effort in trying to master Egyptian, but, as you know, when the Book of Mormon was written, Egyptian had just begun to be deciphered and it is all the more surprising that there are two Egyptian names, Paanchi and Pahor(an) which appear together in …
What The Original Book Of Mormon Manuscript Is Not, John W. Welch
What The Original Book Of Mormon Manuscript Is Not, John W. Welch
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
For well over a decade, FARMS has sponsored extensive research on the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon. About 25 percent of the pages that were written by Oliver Cowdery and other scribes as Joseph Smith dictated the Book of Mormon in 1829 have survived down to the present day. While much has been written and said about what the original manuscript is, perhaps just as significant is a collection of facts about what it is not.
Grammar And The Book Of Mormon
Grammar And The Book Of Mormon
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
In a discourse delivered at the Old Tabernacle in Salt Lake City on 15 November 1863, President George A. Smith addressed a criticism that is repeated today by detractors of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.
Joseph Smith And Mohammed
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
In his book The World and the Prophets, Hugh Nibley observes that critics are not slow to point out superficial resemblances between our modern prophets and other men of their time. For example, Joseph Smith founded a church, and so did other men; he claimed revelation from heaven, and so did they; he was persecuted, and so were they; he read the Bible, and so did they; and because they were impostors, so accordingly was he. This last point, of course, is not supported by the superficial resemblances. What we must ask in the case of the modern prophet …
Ancient Manuscripts Fit Book Of Mormon Pattern, John Gee, John A. Tvedtnes
Ancient Manuscripts Fit Book Of Mormon Pattern, John Gee, John A. Tvedtnes
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
The Prophet Joseph Smith's claim that he translated an ancient text from gold plates he had found buried in the ground was greeted with disbelief in the press and in early anti-Mormon literature. Alexander Campbell, a prominent American religious leader who wrote the first book critical of the Book of Mormon, scoffed at the fact that it had been translated "from the reformed Egyptian!!!" Critics derided the Book of Mormon by calling it the "gold Bible," reflecting the skepticism about scripture being written on metal plates.
New Research On Hidden Books In Ancient Times
New Research On Hidden Books In Ancient Times
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
In The Book of Mormon and Other Hidden Books: "Out of Darkness unto Light," a new book from FARMS, John A. Tvedtnes, associate director of research at FARMS, demonstrates how "various elements of the Book of Mormon story have antecedents in the ancient world that were not known to Joseph Smith or his contemporaries."
Abraham In Egypt
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
This revised and polished edition of Abraham in Egypt combines Hugh Nibley' s greatest lectures on Abraham with several new chapters that originally appeared in the Improvement Era from 1968 to 1970 as the series "A Look at the Pearl of Great Price." In this volume Nibley counters the attacks of critics and demonstrates how the Book of Abraham is just what Joseph Smith claimed it to be.
Honorary Volume Focuses On Church History And Doctrine
Honorary Volume Focuses On Church History And Doctrine
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Richard Lloyd Anderson - known as a devoted teacher, careful writer, and perfect gentleman - has had a great impact on the study of LDS Church history. In The Disciple as Witness: Essays on Latter-day Saint History and Doctrine in Honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson, one of two Festschrift volumes published in recognition of his work, friends and colleagues have written 18 scholarly studies in his honor. Several of these papers were presented on 8 March 1997 at a conference titled "Pioneers of the Restoration."
New Volume Honors Truman G. Madsen
New Volume Honors Truman G. Madsen
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
The distinguished career of Truman G. Madsen has earned him wide respect in and outside of LDS circles as an outstanding teacher, scholar, researcher, speaker, university administrator, church leader, and religious ambassador. With the publication of Revelation, Reason, and Faith: Essays in Honor of Truman G. Madsen, the Institute pays tribute to this remarkable man whose many accomplishments include helping to advance Book of Mormon scholarship and related interests of the Institute.
Joseph Smith Right On Target, New Book Shows
Joseph Smith Right On Target, New Book Shows
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
In his writings over the years, Hugh Nibley has often pointed out “hits” and “bull’s-eyes” in the Book of Mormon—details about the ancient world that were unknown until recent times but that Joseph Smith got right anyway. Serious Book of Mormon research took shape in the early 1900s but has accelerated in recent decades, establishing an entire field of scholarly endeavor and yielding many clues to the book’s ancient origins.
New Book A Milestone In Mormon Studies, Louis C. Midgley
New Book A Milestone In Mormon Studies, Louis C. Midgley
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Latter-day Saint scholar Terryl L. Givens has recently made two extraordinary contributions to Mormon studies. The first, Viper on the Hearth: Mormons,Myths, and the Construction of Heresy, was published by the prestigious Oxford University Press in 1997 and received virtually uniformly glowing reviews. If one wishes to understand the complex of interests and motivations—pecuniary, personal, and ideological—that fuel both sectarian and secular anti-Mormonism, Viper is the book to consult. The editors at Oxford appreciated the merits of this well-written, informative book and invited Givens to publish again with them. The result is By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture …
Forthcoming Publications
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
The Hôr Book of Breathings: A Translation and Commentary, by Michael D. Rhodes, treats the fragments of the Joseph Smith Papyri associated with Facsimiles 1 and 3 of the Book of Abraham. Available in March 2002.
Richard Bushman’S Byu Years: The Beginnings Of An Influential Career, J. B. Haws
Richard Bushman’S Byu Years: The Beginnings Of An Influential Career, J. B. Haws
BYU Studies
The case can be made—and has been made—that Richard Lyman Bushman has been as influential as anyone in his generation in shaping the way that Latter-day Saints think about, write about, and talk about our shared history. His seminal books on Joseph Smith, his essays on historical philosophy, his two decades of mentoring graduate students every summer—all of these have had a real and discernible impact on Church publications and paradigms.
“Show Them Unto No Man”: Part 2. The Book Of Moses And The Early Jewish Christian Esoteric Tradition, Barry R. Bickmore
“Show Them Unto No Man”: Part 2. The Book Of Moses And The Early Jewish Christian Esoteric Tradition, Barry R. Bickmore
BYU Studies
There can be no question but that the Restoration was in many ways strange for its time and place, and this can make life difficult for anyone attempting to track the history of Latter-day Saint religious beliefs. Its very strangeness makes it difficult for historians who do not believe Joseph Smith’s teachings were divinely inspired to pinpoint plausible, mundane sources of inspiration.
Was Joseph Smith A Money Digger?, Steven C. Harper
Was Joseph Smith A Money Digger?, Steven C. Harper
BYU Studies
Was not Jo Smith a money digger?” It’s a legitimate, frequently asked question from Joseph Smith’s day to ours. An early Latter-day Saint newspaper, the Elders’ Journal, asked and then answered that question in a pair of articles published in 1837 and 1838. The first article teased readers with a list of provocative “questions which are daily and hourly asked by all classes of people whilst we are traveling,” then promised that answers would follow in a subsequent issue. The second article answered candidly: “Yes.” Joseph Smith was a money digger, meaning that he dug for buried treasure. “But,” …
The Pure Language Project, Dan Belnap, Michael Mackay
The Pure Language Project, Dan Belnap, Michael Mackay
Faculty Publications
In the summer of 1835, Joseph Smith and his associates purchased four mummies and some papyri scrolls from Michael Chandler.1 That summer Joseph would participate in a project that would produce a fascinating set of texts, referred to today as the Egyptian Language Documents (ELD), used and compiled mostly in Kirtland, but also consulted and expanded in Nauvoo.2 These documents, which include three incomplete variants of what was called an “alphabet” as well as an incomplete “grammar,” integrated a series of characters with explanations.
King Mosiah And The Judgeship, John A. Tvedtnes
King Mosiah And The Judgeship, John A. Tvedtnes
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
The immediate situation that prompted Mosiah to institute a system of judges to govern the Nephites was the departure of his four sons. The people asked that Aaron be appointed king, but he and his brothers had gone to the land of Nephi to preach to the Lamanites and had renounced their claims to the monarchy (see Mosiah 29:1–6).
Brown Bag Report
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
On 30 October John L. Clark, emeritus instructor in the Church Educational System, spoke on the topic “Painting Out the Messiah: Theologies of the Dissidents.” Clark began by showing that Lehi, Nephi, and Jacob all taught specifically about the Messiah but that dissidents like Sherem and Nehor opposed their teachings with “theologies” that denied Christ’s redemptive role and godhood, thereby causing many believers to lose faith. Clark then examined the arguments of the dissidents in the Book of Mormon to show what the prophets were teaching and what the objections to those teachings were. He discusses this topic at length …
Farms Scholars At Sperry Symposium
Farms Scholars At Sperry Symposium
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
2004In any given year, FARMS-affiliated scholars present their research at a number of scholarly conferences at home and abroad. Brigham Young University’s Sidney B. Sperry Symposium in Octo-ber 2004, entitled “Prelude to the Restoration: From Apostasy to the Restored Church,” was one such venue on the home front. Selected highlights follow.
Farms Book Of Mormon Research Highlighted
Farms Book Of Mormon Research Highlighted
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
During a recent meeting of the FARMS Development Council, four principal investigators on Book of Mormon–related projects reviewed the status of their ongoing work. The reports clarified each project’s goals, highlighted new findings, noted future directions, and expressed appreciation for the crucial support of generous donors, many of whom were in attendance. A summary of the presentations follows.
The Pleading Bar Of God, Royal Skousen
The Pleading Bar Of God, Royal Skousen
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Near the end of his life, the prophet Nephi referred to the day of judgment and declared that we, the readers of the Book of Mormon, will stand face to face with him before the bar of Christ (2 Nephi 33:11). Similarly, the prophets Jacob and Moroni referred to meeting us when we appear before “the pleasing bar” of God to be judged.
Restoring The Original Text Of The Book Of Mormon
Restoring The Original Text Of The Book Of Mormon
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Elegantly produced and weighing in at 652 pages, the first part of volume 4 in Professor Royal Skousen’s ongoing Book of Mormon critical text project has just come from the press. Volumes 1 and 2, containing transcripts of the original manuscript and the printer’s manuscript of the Book of Mormon, were published by FARMS in 2001. Volume 3, which will describe the history of the Book of Mormon text from Joseph Smith’s original dictation through the current standard editions, will appear after all parts of volume 4 have been published. Volume 3 will include a complete analysis of the grammatical …
Patrick Henry, Gideon, And The Book Of Mormon
Patrick Henry, Gideon, And The Book Of Mormon
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Historian Richard L. Bush-man, responding to accusations that the Book of Mormon contains “evidence of nineteenth-century American political culture,” concluded that in fact “most of the principles tradition-ally associated with the American Constitution are slighted or disregarded altogether” in the book. “So many of the powerful intellectual influences operating on Joseph Smith failed to touch the Book of Mormon.”
Nibley Classic On Papyri Given New Life In Second Edition
Nibley Classic On Papyri Given New Life In Second Edition
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
After years of intense effort, the long-overdue second edition of Hugh Nibley’s 1975 book The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment is at press. This new edition has been meticulously pre-pared by BYU Egyptologists John Gee and Michael D. Rhodes, who upgraded this Nibley classic on many points (some unseen, others impossible to miss, such as the superior illustrations by Michael Lyon) while preserving the original con-tent. Published by FARMS and Deseret Book, this edition is a fitting tribute to Nibley’s pioneering work and will enable a new generation of students and scholars to profit from Nibley’s …
Library Of Congress Hosts Academic Conference On Joseph Smith, Part 2
Library Of Congress Hosts Academic Conference On Joseph Smith, Part 2
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
This report covers the proceedings of the second day of “The Worlds of Joseph Smith,” an academic conference held on 6–7 May 2005 at the Library of Congress, in Washington DC, in recognition of the bicentennial of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s birth. For a report of the first day of proceedings, see the article in Insights 25/3 (2005).
Library Of Congress Hosts Academic Conference On Joseph Smith
Library Of Congress Hosts Academic Conference On Joseph Smith
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
In recognition of the bicentennial of the Prophet Joseph Smith’s birth, the Library of Congress, in Washington DC, hosted an academic conference on 6–7 May 2005 titled “The Worlds of Joseph Smith.” Carried internationally via webcast, the event featured 17 scholars (nearly evenly divided between Latter-day Saints and those of other faiths) who examined Joseph Smith’s theological contributions and evaluated the claim that the church he founded is on track to becoming a world religion.
Temples Everywhere, Hugh W. Nibley
Temples Everywhere, Hugh W. Nibley
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
Those of us who saw the recent television documentary American Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith may have noticed an interesting defect in the script, namely, that it was Hamlet with Hamlet left out. It was as if one were to produce the life of Shakespeare with charming views of Stratford-upon-Avon, country school, the poaching story, marriage to Anne Hatha-way, showbiz in London, and respectable retirement without bothering to mention that our leading character gave the world the greatest treasury of dramatic art in existence. Or a life of Bach with his niggardly brother-guardian, his early poverty, his odd jobs …
Maxwell Institute Supports Byu Symposium On Oliver Cowdery With Speakers, New Book
Maxwell Institute Supports Byu Symposium On Oliver Cowdery With Speakers, New Book
Insights: The Newsletter of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship
To commemorate the 200th anniversary of Oliver Cowdery’s birth on 3 October 1806, more than a dozen scholars treated crowds in the BYU Conference Center to fresh perspectives on Cowdery as a central figure in the Restoration. Entitled “Oliver Cowdery: Restoration Witness, Second Elder,” the symposium featured cultural historian Richard L. Bushman as keynote speaker and several other distinguished speakers spread throughout four sessions of three or four concurrent presentations each. Cosponsors of the five-hour event, held on 10 November, were the Mormon Historic Sites Foundation and BYU’s Religious Studies Center.