Category: Scholarship
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…
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…
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…
Fear and Trembling and Sickness Unto 47 Million Deaths: Basic Math and the Pandemic Panic
A well-educated friend with a graduate degree from an outstanding university sent me this video from Dr. Emily Porter of Austin, Texas and felt it was enlightening. She artfully and…
Book of Mormon Reminder: Resist Voices That Stir Hate and Violence
1. The Book of Mormon’s Warnings Against Manipulative Power Seekers Who Stir Us to Anger The Book of Mormon is becoming more relevant day by day during this time of…
Coping with the Corona Virus: A New Report on Glucosamine and Other Nutriceuticals, and an Update on Masks
I irritated some readers (as I often do) in February when I shared some thoughts from another reader about the possible importance of glucosamine in helping pneumonia patients survive. I’m…
The River of Filthy Water in Lehi’s Dream, and Perhaps in His Personal Experience
In Lehi’s dream in 1 Nephi 8, he saw a river of water flowing by the great and spacious building, and saw that many drowned in it as they left…
The Willard Richards Book of Abraham Manuscript 2: Live Dictation of Abraham 3 in 1842, or Copying Existing Text?
In an important publication from the Joseph Smith Papers Project, The Joseph Smith Papers, Revelations and Translations, Volume 4: Book of Abraham and Related Manuscripts, eds. Robin Scott Jensen and…
An Update, Barely, on Barley
A Dec. 23, 2019 news release from Washington University in St. Louis reports new research results about the “lost crops” of North America that could have been more productive than…
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…
