Category: Scholarship
A Gift From an Early “Anti-Mormon” Attack on the Book of Abraham: Clear Evidence About the Source of Joseph’s Translation
The words of Joseph Smith give us vital evidence about the translation of the Book of Abraham. As Tim Barker demonstrates in a recent FAIR Conference, a large fraction of the characters on the papyrus fragment Joseph allegedly used to translate the Book of Abraham have been placed on Facsimile 2, and Joseph indicated that the explanations for those characters “will be given in the own due time of the Lord.” That is followed by a statement that refers to all the comments made regarding Facs. 2: “The above translation is given as far as we have any right to give at the present time.”
Understanding the God of the Old Testament: An Evangelical Scholar Explains the Meaning of “God Is Love”
Evangelical Bible scholar Ben Witherington has written a deeply interesting essay on the meaning of “God is love” for Biblical Archaeology’s “Bible History Daily” column. After explaining the wrong assumptions…
More on the Limits of “Endless” and “Eternal” in the Book of Mormon: Awaking from “Endless Sleep” and the “Eternal Band of Death”
In a recent previous post, “‘From Whence They Can No More Return’: What Lehi Teaches Us About the Book of Mormon’s Harsh Language on Hell,” I noted that a passage…
Janus Parallelism in Alma 32 and 33?
Alma uses the verb “spring” in an interesting way in his sermon to the Zoramites in Alma 32 and 33: But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the…
Four Types of Chiasmus in Deuteronomy and Jeremiah, with Implications for the Book of Mormon
Students of biblical literature and of the Book of Mormon can now access an important new volume on chiasmus, Chiasmus: The State of the Art, just published as a special…
A Most Appropriate Thanksgiving Message for This Day: President Nelson on the Power of Gratitude
I just listened to President Nelson’s short message delivered at noon (Central Time) via Youtube. I always enjoy listening to this kind, wise man, but he greatly exceeded my expectations….
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…
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…
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…
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…
