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Yay, Yay or Neigh, Neigh? Horses, Pranks, and Book of Mormon Evidence

Book of Mormon defenders and enthusiasts have a lot to be excited about. From the discovery of carefully crafted chiasmus in the Book of Mormon to the discovery of intricate…

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Intelligent, Fun, and Beautiful: An LDS Guide to the Yucatán by Daniel Johnson, Jared Cooper, and Derek Gasser

An LDS Guide to the Yucatán by Daniel Johnson, Jared Cooper, and Derek Gasser (Springville, Utah:  Cedar Fort, 2012) is probably my top recommendation for an intelligent, fun, and beautiful LDS…

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Posted in Book of Mormon chiasmus Evidence Scholarship

What A Non-LDS Scholar Said about Chiasmus

I recommend reading http://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1131&index=1 to the scholarly book, Chiasmus in Antiquity, edited by John Welch. The full text of that intriguing book is available free online at the Maxwell Institute….

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Truer Than Ever: The Book of Abraham

One of the biggest challenges to my personal testimony of the reality of the Restoration came when I was serving as Bishop years ago. I was exploring one of the…

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Cornelis Van Dam on the Urim and Thummim

Dr. Cornelis Van Dam of the Theological College of the Canadian Reformed Churches has written a fascinating book on a generally neglected topic of Biblical scholarship: the Urim and Thummim….

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Posted in Book of Mormon Critics Evidence Scholarship Science

“If Only 10% of These Charges, Are True, The Church is False” – The Fallacy of Quantity Versus Quality

In one of my first experiences in helping to teach the Gospel out here in Wisconsin, we had a new convert in our home who had been given volumes of…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Antiquity Christianity Evidence Restoration Scholarship Temple

Mormon Temples and “Secrecy”

I’ve often received questions about the issue of “secrecy” in Mormon temples. To us, the key factor is what is sacred, not secret, but this still leaves many people confused,…

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