Posted in Ancient Near East Book of Abraham Critics Egyptian Evidence language Origins Scholarship Scripture Translation

Some Sources for the Kirtland Egyptian Paper’s Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language, Part One

One of the vital issues in Book of Abraham debates is the role of the Kirtland Egyptian Papers, including the large and mysterious work, the Grammar and Alphabet of the…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Bible Book of Mormon Evidence Temple

A Christmas Surprise: An Ancient Jewish Temple at the Same Time as Solomon’s Temple

The Dec. 23 newsletter from the Biblical Archaeology Society surprised me with a report about  another ancient Jewish temple outside of Jerusalem. See “A Rival to Solomon’s Temple” by Marek…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Book of Mormon Evidence language Origins Problems

Romancing the Rio Wreck: Evidence for Ancient Transoceanic Contact in the Americas vs. a Romantic Notion of Peer Review

As a Ph.D. linguist providing his peer-review of Brian Stubbs’ work on linguistic evidence of ancient Old World contact with the Americas as evidence by the Uto-Aztecan language family, Dr….

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Posted in Ancient Near East Book of Mormon Egyptian Evidence Hebrew language Mesoamerica Scholarship

John S. Robertson Offers Strong Support for Brian Stubbs

Recently Brian Stubbs, a leading and widely respected expert on the Uto-Aztecan language family, provided a guest post with his detailed response to a harshly critical review of his work…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Book of Moses Egyptian language Scholarship wordplays

Nathan Arp on an Apparent Egyptian Wordplay on the Name of Moses

One of the joys of living in Shanghai is just how much from around the world comes to this town. Whether you want to find interesting technology,  conferences and trade…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Bible Book of Mormon Evidence Origins Scholarship Scripture

The Book of Mormon’s Ties to the Northern Kingdom of Israel: New Research from Dr. Richley Crapo

One of the more novel arguments I’ve seen against the Book of Mormon was the graduate work of Kyle Beshears, “Davidic References in the Book of Mormon as Evidence Against…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Antiquity Book of Mormon Egyptian Evidence Hebrew language Mesoamerica Scholarship

Guest Post from Brian Stubbs: A Response to Chris Rogers’ “A Review of the Afro-Asiatic: Uto-Aztecan Proposal” in the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

I’m pleased to offer an important guest post from Brian Stubbs, one of the world’s leading experts in Uto-Aztecan languages and a scholar whom I deeply respect for his insights…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Antiquity Arabia Bible Book of Mormon Evidence Israel Israel Photography

Sights from a Trip to Israel and Jordan

One of the advantages of working in China is having long national holidays like the Chinese New Year, making it easier to take interesting trips to other lands. There’s a…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Book of Abraham Egyptian Evidence Scholarship Translation

Do the Kirtland Egyptian Papers Prove the Book of Abraham Was Translated from a Handful of Characters? See for Yourself!

In a small but highly valuable and colorful book on the Book of Abraham, John Gee’s A Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri (Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and…

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Posted in Africa Ancient Near East Book of Mormon Evidence Temple

The Elephantine in the Room

Location of Elephantine on the Upper Nile, courtesy of Wikipedia’s article, “Elephantine.” Over 2,400 years ago there was an active community of Jewish immigrants living on the island of Elephantine…

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