Category: Origins
Royal Skousen’s Interesting Theory on the Book of Abraham and Its Relationship to the Papyri
A reader raised an interesting question after reading Dr. Royal Skousen’s C.V. at BYU, where he mentions a theory he is exploring that has not yet been published. Under the…
Ifs, Ands, or Buts: A Reminder on the Origins of the Book of Mormon
In a past Maxwell Institute publication, Daniel Peterson made a great point about the nature of the language in the Book of Mormon that seems to defy theories of Joseph…
Moses Stuart or Joshua Seixas? Exploring the Influence of Hebrew Study on the Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language
Update, June 16, 2019: After searching in many places (Hebrew texts, Masonic literature, and sources on ciphers and scripts) for alternate sources for the archaic Hebrew letter beth that W.W….
Joseph the Amusing Teller of Tall Tales: Lucy Mack Smith’s Puzzling Statement in Perspective
One of the pillars of disbelief for critics of the Book of Mormon is the notion that Joseph Smith was well known as an imaginative story teller. He was allegedly…
New Life for Ancient Word Plays in the Book of Mormon: Paanchi, Ankh, and Deadly Oaths
It’s no secret that secret combinations are one of the most salient and intelligent aspects of the Book of Mormon. The patterns of behavior and potential dangers in exposed secret…
Evaluating Book of Mormon Claims: Where Do We Stand after 187 Years?
After 187 years of critics poking fun at the Book of Mormon and exposing its weaknesses, today it seems to be the established view of numerous highly educated elites that…
The Egyptian Context for the Book of Abraham: Why Hor, Priest of Thebes, Might Want an Abraham Text
One of the important but often overlooked issues in the debate over the origins of the Book of Abraham is why the ancient Egyptian owner of the Joseph Smith papyri…
A Thought on Book of Mormon Origins
The full significance of Martin Harris’s visit to Charles Anthon has been diminished in the way Latter-day Saints typically retell the story. A consequence of that visit was an apparent…
What Did Joseph Know About the Structure of the Book of Mormon, and When Did He Know It?
The details of the translation process that gave us the Book of Mormon offer a variety of mysteries and challenges, but the greatest challenge is for theories based on Joseph…
