It was bad enough that every byu student now has to learn the book of mormon by following the events in the text on a fantasy land map, but now seminary students will have to learn this thing. Some latterday saint scholars argue that literacy in the book of mormon was limited to elite classes and that the book of mormon people as a whole functioned as an. Each of the halfhour episodes covers several chapters from the book of mormon. In 1980 the foundation for ancient research and mormon studies moved to byu when welch accepted in position with byus law school. The book of mormon and joseph smiths teachings indicate that the biblical texts we have today have been modified in some. Enrich life with byus free courses church news and events. Church leaders have long urged members to gain as much knowledge as they can. Home latterday saint movement studies mormon studies. Most latterday saints are aware of a minor industry in certain religious circles in the united states devoted to refuting mormonism and to criticizing the book of mormon.
At this rate, it will appear in primary classes in no time. He served a fulltime mission in southern england during the early 1970s. These courses can be found in two sections of the independent study web site. Book of mormon classes undergo changes religious education. Split emerges among mormon scholars the salt lake tribune. Farms describes itself as an independent, nonprofit organization that encourages and supports research about the book of mormon and other ancient scriptures. Most of the articles are from farms, the maxwell institute, interpreter. Farms represents the efforts of sincere and dedicated scholars. The church and byu stay neutral in questions of exactly where the book of mormon took place. For each lesson, weve listed articles from our journal and charts from charting the book of mormonfor you to peruse. Another testament of jesus christ for our day discover the book of mormon like youve never seen it before.
He is also associate professor of history at brigham young university, where he teaches american religious history. Shakeup hits byus mormon studies institute the salt lake tribune. Spencer fluhman is the executive director of the neal a. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to adherents, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. This board consists of the same people as the church board of education, a. Have spent two years teaching in jerusalem at the byu jerusalem. In 1997 farms was formally invited into brigham young university by president gordon b. For example, byu and ces applied the m2c interpretation of the text of the book of mormonthe interpretation behind the m2c maps depicted aboveand created a fictional fantasy map to use in book of mormon classes. Shedding new light on ancient origins byu magazine. Several years ago the foundation for ancient research and mormon studies farms, now part of byu, begun to institute a deliberate confrontation and analysis with and of antimormon literature. An archaeologists evaluation, religious educator10, no.
King james bible old and new testaments, book of mormon, doctrine and covenants, pearl of great price, bible dictionary, and topical guide. These insights have led to comprehensive linguistic and semantic analyses of the 426 yearrelated expressions in the book of mormon. Hugh nibley was a brilliant man, a real renaissance man competent in music, art, history and science. Most latterday saints are aware of a minor industry in certain religious circles in the united states devoted to refuting mormonism and. Part one contains twentynine lectures focusing on 1 nephi through mosiah 5. Currently, there are only two courses that byu students can take on the book of mormon. Each tab specializes in a particular area of scholarship in the field. New light on ancient origins, was first published in 1982, and a new printing was released last year by farms the foundation for ancient research and mormon studies. Smith, hebrew scholar, edited the first book of mormon critical text published by farms in 1984 1987.
Charting the book of mormon is a collection of more than 175 visual aids that promote deeper understanding and appreciation of the book of mormon. Brigham young university virtual book of mormon book. In 1997, the group became a formal part of brigham young university byu, which is owned and operated by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church. Following lds president ezra taft bensons 1985 call to read the book of mormon more frequently and more carefully, jeffrey r. Presses outside of utah started to publish more books in mormon studies. Mormon studies is the interdisciplinary academic study of the beliefs, practices, history and.
He and his wife, the former arlene chapman, live in mona, utah. Randall was born and raised in southern alberta, canada. In 1998, farms was brought into byu under the umbrella of the maxwell institute, and the. Brigham young university is a part of the lds church educational system. Byu studies and other lds churchsponsored publishers published more. With so many freshmanaged students deciding to serve missions, administrators in the department of ancient scripture had no way of knowing how many book of mormon sections to reserve for freshmen. It is vintage nibley, with his insights, humor, and passionate convictions, discussing a. They are as busy as bees with this mission impossible task. Farms fair shields mormon apologetics farms and fair and shields apologize for the book of mormon and the book of abraham. Studies of the book of mormon academic dictionaries and.
All of the entries from the encyclopedia of mormonismare free. Bassetts latterday commentary on the book of mormon ronald w. How byu destroyed ancient book of mormon studies william. The foundation for ancient research and mormon studies farms was an informal collaboration of academics devoted to latterday saint historical scholarship. Book of mormon lessons with an archive of 50 years of articles, byu studiesis an excellent resource to assist you in your study of the book of mormon. Virtually nobody outside of the apologetic community appears to have read the book of mormon carefully enough to notice reference to the hoards of. It has also published substantial freestanding essays that made further contributions to the field of mormon studies. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies byuorg. The fact that farms apologists felt it necessary to propose that other people could have lived concurrently with book of mormon people is evidence enough that the book of mormon is silent about them. We also cover some articles from the ensigns i have a question feature, fair conference talks, other.
Fulltext searchable official versions of scriptures of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, including. Answers to apologetic claims about dna and the book of mormon. Miller author matthew roper when the book of mormon first appeared, skeptics said that references to horses, asses, elephants, and other animals such as swine and cows were out of place. Recently, joseph allen, operator of the largest tour service to book of mormon lands, began a newsletter entitled the book of mormon archaeological digest. Studies of the book of mormon consists of three essays, brief correspondence related to the writing of the essays, a biographical sketch by sterling mccurrin, and an introduction by brigham madsen. In 2006 brigham young university formed the new neal a. Byu classes on the book of mormon are perpetually stuck at the. Bob also participated in the book of mormon geography group convened by david a. Encountering a topsyturvey approach to mormon origins. Jack welch is wellknown and highly regarded in lds circles for his insightful studies of the bible and book of mormon, including numerous works on jesuss sermon on the mount, temple studies, the gospel of matthew, the parable of the good samaritan, the trial of jesus, and the legal and cultural backgrounds of the new testament.
In extending the invitation, president hinckley said. Teachings of the book of mormon, semester 1 neal a. Holland, then president of brigham young university, proposed that the religious studies center at brigham young university begin holding an annual book of mormon symposium on campus. Nibley in the first of four honors book of mormon classes that he taught at byu during 198890. That fits with the new journals purpose, peterson says, which is to carry forward with the old farms approach which is expressly faithful scriptural study. Articles are organized by the particular book of mormon book and passages that they address. Based out of brigham young university, farms is the leading lds apologetics organization today. Nibley met phyllis draper at byu prior to teaching his first classes there. A study of the teachings and doctrine of the book of mormon with emphasis on the saviors ministry. In keeping with this direction, the independent study program at brigham young university offers free online courses. Ive found that most gospel doctrinesunday school classes barely scratch the surface of the contents of the book, and i am interested in a comprehensive analysis or companion of the book in. Many book of mormon research projects have implications for the continuing issues surrounding the authorship of the book of mormon. Faculty members from the byu religious education department discuss the writings and teachings of the book of mormon prophets in this 63part series. An introduction to the structure and symbolism of these expressions will be presented publicly for the first time at the 2018 fairmormon conference.
Book of mormon charts charting the book of mormon is a collection of more than 175 visual aids that promote deeper understanding and appreciation of the book of mormon. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. Hugh winder nibley march 27, 1910 february 24, 2005 was an american scholar and an. Designed for multiple use as study guides, handouts, and masters for creating projectable images, the charts convey a wealth of information that will enrich personal study and. Jonathan neville moronis america the north american. The lord could have removed all questions regarding the exact locations of these events but he did not. Farms originated outside of byu precisely because of the policies of byu.
A journal of mormon scripture, byu studies, and byu religious education. Joe hadfield confirmed that the institute is changing course. It is organized under a board of trustees, with the president of the church currently russell m. Hey all lifelong mormon, currently doing my second read through of the book of mormon. Internal evidence of widespread literacy in the book of mormon. Farms collaborated with deseret book to publish the complete works of. Alarming news from byu education week moronis america. Charles swift for the book of mormon, and both were excellent. What i liked best about both of them is they were very good at stepping aside and saying what was simply their opinion, then when they made claims they substantiated it with other scripture and solid quotations. Ancient near eastern texts, studies in egypt and egyptian archaeology, old testament, new testament, teachings of isaiah, pearl of great price, book of mormon, christ and the everlasting gospel, and foundations of ancient scripture. Over the subsequent 15 years, many new studies have been completed, and earlier ones have been significantly updated. They throw out a half dozen conflicting theories using phrases like may have been, it is possible, may have applied, and on and on. Farms in 1979 to promote and coordinate book of mormon research. He had a photographic memory and often quoted ancient texts verbatim in their original.
It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Four semesters of honors book of mormon classes taught at byu by hugh nibley, 1988 1990, videotaped. This change to book of mormon classes is another in a list of changes brought about by the lowered missionary age requirement. Farms originated outside of byu precisely because of the policies of byu that ive outlined above, which prevented ancient book of mormon scholarship from thriving at byu. In 1997, president hinckley invited farms to become part of brigham young university. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. I was reading about horses in the book of mormon at the farms mormon apologetics group website today. The latterday saint movement studies research guide highlights essential resources in the study of all religious groups associated with joseph smith, jr. He graduated summa cum laude from byu and received masters and doctoral degrees in history from the university of wisconsinmadison. This fantasy map is even worse than the mesoamerican maps we used to have to learn when i was at. Bassetts latterday commentary on the book of mormon. Welch, member of the byu law faculty, is generally considered the leading book of mormon scholar alive today.
A humble farm boy became the prophet of the restoration. While primarily concerned with defending the book of mormon as a historical document, farms publications often go beyond that narrow focus to provide a. Oral and literate culture in the book of mormon provo, ut. Fair study aidsbook of mormon resources by chapter and verse. Please note that these assignments are suggestions. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of. It is vintage nibley, with his insights, humor, and passionate convictions, discussing a book that he loves and knows so well.