Posted in Book of Mormon Book of Moses Evidence language Media Origins Scholarship Scripture Videos

Video of My Presentation with Noel Reynolds, “’Strong Like Unto Moses’: The Case for Ancient Roots in the Book of Moses”

On Sept. 18 and 19, 2020 in Provo, Utah, the Interpreter Foundation sponsored a virtual conference, “Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses.” Dr. Noel Reynolds and I collaborated…

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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 Bible Book of Mormon Critics language Origins Scholarship Scripture

Turning Gems into Dirt: The Case for Adam Clarke as a Source for the “Inspired Translation” of the Bible

John Dehlin with his podcasts and videos criticizing the Church has recently stirred up a lot of interest in the “amazing” and “historic” case of “plagiarism” against Joseph Smith based…

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Posted in Book of Mormon Critics Evidence history

No, B.H. Roberts Did Not Abandon Belief in the Book of Mormon

Sad to see an irresponsible critic of the Church pushing the easily debunked theory that a General Authority, B.H. Roberts, lost his testimony due to the overwhelming problems in the…

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Posted in Book of Abraham Book of Mormon Evidence Scholarship Scripture

Growing Evidence for the Scriptures: Now a Centralized Source to Consider

If you’ve been following the steady stream of interesting findings and insights regarding the LDS scriptures at Book of Mormon Central (BookofMormonCentral.com) and Pearl of Great Price Central (PearlofGreatPriceCentral.org/), you…

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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 Arabia Arabian Peninsula Book of Mormon Evidence

Warren Aston’s Search for Shazer: Another Breakthrough for the Arabian Peninsula Evidence for the Book of Mormon

Important new evidence for the plausibility of Lehi’s Trail in the Book of Mormon has just been published based on 2019 fieldwork in the Arabian Peninsula by Warren Aston. See…

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Posted in Book of Mormon history Scholarship Translation

Further Thoughts on the Nephite Interpreters and Mesoamerican Culture

An important new study on relationships between the Book of Mormon and Mesoamerican culture was just published on Friday by Mark Alan Wright: “Nephite Daykeepers: Ritual Specialists in Mesoamerica and…

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

A Book of Mormon Place Name that Teaches Us About Grace: Onidah

Both personal names and place names in the Book of Mormon once were a source of ridicule. Like many Book of Mormon weaknesses, recent discoveries have increasingly turned these weaknesses…

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Aztec storm god, Tlaloc, with his goggles.
Posted in Book of Mormon Evidence Mesoamerica Scholarship Translation

Ancient American Goggles and the Nephite/Jaredite “Interpreters,” Part 2

My previous post, “Don’t Google ‘Spectacles,’ Google ‘Goggles’: The Nephite ‘Interpreters’ as a Book of Mormon Anachronism” (hereafter Part 1), raised the possibility that ancient Mesoamerican “goggles,” sometimes depicted as…

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