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Latest Episodes
The Dance of Reader and Text: Salomé, the Daughter of Jared, and the Regal Dance of Death
Abstract: Modern readers too often and easily misread modern assumptions into ancient texts. One such notion is that when the reader encounters repeated stories in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, Herod
“In This Batter’d Caravanserai”
Abstract: In the Rubiyt of Omar Khayym, based upon verses composed by an eleventh-century Persian mathematician and astronomer, the English Victorian poet Edward FitzGerald eloquently portrays huma
Theosis in the Book of Mormon: The Work and Glory of the Father, Mother and Son, and Holy Ghost
Abstract: While some scholars have suggested that the doctrine of theosis the transformation of human beings into divine beings emerged only in Nauvoo, the essence of the doctrine was already pres
A Restoration of Paul’s Understanding of Faith as a Relationship of Action
Review of Brent J. Schmidt, Relational Faith: The Transformation and Restoration of Pistis as Knowledge, Trust, Confidence, and Covenantal Faithfulness (Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2022). 356 pages, $21.9
A New and Most Welcome Resource for Book of Abraham Studies
Review of Stephen O. Smoot, John Gee, Kerry Muhlestein, and John S. Thompson, A Guide to the Book of Abraham, BYU Studies Quarterly 61, no. 4 (2022). 302 pages. Abstract: The new and special issue o
Understanding the Lamanite Mark
Abstract: The Book of Mormon describes a dark mark on the skin that distinguished people who rebelled against God and his laws from those who obeyed God. The Old Testament refers to a mark that fits t
“In the Cause … of their God”: Clarifying Some Issues Regarding the Book of Mormon and a Gospel View of War
Abstract: A recent effort to think about war concludes that the Book of Mormon displays two righteous approaches to conflict: a violent approach that is justified and therefore blessed; and a nonvio
Unavailable Genetic Evidence, Multiple Simultaneous Promised Lands, and Lamanites by Location? Possible Ramifications of the Book of Mormon Limited Geography Theory
Abstract: This paper is composed of three parts connected consecutively because their conclusions build upon each other. The first part investigates the transportation methods used in the Book of Morm
The Teachings of Silvanus: A Little-Known Gem from Nag Hammadi
Abstract: Scholars have recently suggested that The Teachings of Silvanus, a text from Nag Hammadi Codex VII, is the product of several authors with the earliest portion dating to the late first or ea
The Goodness of the Cross and Good Friday: Lessons from Bavaria
Abstract: It is natural to wonder how the day on which Jesus was crucified could come to be known as Good Friday. In this exploration of the topic, John Welch examines the many events which occurred o