Posted in Ancient Near East Antiquity Arabia Arabian Peninsula Book of Mormon Evidence Faith Problems Scholarship

Further Thoughts on Nephi’s Three-Day Journey: Going the Distance with Google Earth

My recent post on Nephi’s three-day journey, the leg of Lehi’s Trail that reaches the River Laman in the Valley of Lemuel, discussed the significance of Exodus themes in Nephi’s…

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Posted in Antiquity Asia Book of Mormon COVID language Scholarship Translation

Exciting News on an Apparent Breakthrough in Deciphering the Indus Valley Script: A Great Way to Turn the Hearts of the Children to Their Ancestors

The closing words of the Old Testament are a prophecy about the Lord sending Elijah, who “shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Antiquity Bible Book of Mormon Books Charity Christianity covenants Critics Doctrine Evidence Faith Gospel of Jesus Christ Greek history Repentance Restoration

Relational Faith: An Essential Book for Understanding “Faith” as Used in New Testament Times and for Appreciating the Restoration

There’s a new book, Brent Schmidt’s Relational Faith, that may be one of the best resources around to help Latter-day Saints and perhaps many other Christians understand and explain what…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Antiquity Book of Abraham Books Critics Egyptian Evidence history Scholarship Translation

Geocentric Astronomy in the Book of Abraham? Dan Vogel’s Refutation of LDS Scholars

  Circumpolar star trails in a long-exposure photo of several hours, showing that stars closer to Polaris move on shorter trails, thus moving more slowly. The circumpolar stars always stay…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Antiquity Book of Mormon Evidence Hebrew language Scholarship Scripture Translation

An Update in the Scholarship Regarding the Archaic Language in the Book of Mormon

One of the most interesting puzzles about the Book of Mormon is the recent discovery that much of the language is archaic in ways not easily explained by imitating the…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Antiquity Asia Book of Mormon Critics Evidence Origins Problems

Plagiarism Made Harder, or, The Book of Ether and the Genius of Joseph’s Plagiarism

Students of the Book of Mormon have long noted that the brief book of Ether is quite different in its content and style than the rest of the Book of…

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Posted in Antiquity Book of Abraham Critics Egyptian Evidence history Origins Scholarship Scripture Translation

More on the Meaning of the Kirtland Egyptian Papers: Recent Explorations Based on Comments at Interpreter

One of the best things about finally having a reply from the Joseph Smith Papers Project on the issue of alleged flaws in scholarship in their volume on the Book…

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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 Antiquity Bible Christianity Doctrine Evidence Gospel of Jesus Christ Jesus Christ Repentance

John 8 and the Woman Taken in Adultery: A Faith Promoting Fabrication?

For years I’ve had a question mark in my mind over John 8:1-11 with its beautiful and inspiring story of Christ’s merciful treatment of the woman taken in adultery. The…

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