Publications
- Minor things with the Maxwell Institute, a book review and a short article on Hebrew and negative rhetorical questions in the Book of Mormon, from my early days.
- An exposition of Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38 in BYU’s Religious Educator journal, explaining the cultural background of why she disguises herself to sleep with her father-in-law after he mistreats her. Link.
- An article enumerating four reasons why Bible translations differ, the role of the JST in understanding the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and how to study the Old Testament in depth, in Religious Educator. Not available from RE for another year, but here’s a PDF Link and a longer summary at Times&Seasons. (Note, the current pdf has some minor errors in the footnotes which will be fixed in the print version. If I get the updated pdf, I’ll post it.)
Upcoming
- My paper from the 2013 Mormon Theology Seminar on whether Adam is a proper name in Genesis 2-3 and the implications thereof. Recording of presentation here. The quality is not ideal, since I presented via Skype using a fast mobile internet connection, inside a parking garage, in Toledo, Spain.
- My paper from the 2013 Society of Mormon Philosophy and Theology conference, with Atonement as the theme. I presented on the Israelite roots of common Atonement terminology, focused on Atone (priestly/cultic), Redeem (kinship/covenant), and Save (martial/victorious.)
- My book on Genesis 1 has its own page.
Blogging
I’ve blogged at various places. In most cases, the rosters, reputations, and orientations of these blogs have changed from when I was there, significantly in some cases.
- Most recently at TimesAndSeasons.org, which is where I first guest-posted in 2003. All posts.
- Before that, I helped run the Mormon portal here at Patheos, and blogged as well. All posts.
- Prior to that, I blogged under a pseudonym with (what was at the time) mostly a group of LDS graduate students in Bible/Religion. All posts.
- And prior to that, I wrote at MillennialStar.org. The attribution system has had problems, so not all of my posts are attributed to me, and some that are attributed to me are attributed incorrectly. So, grain of salt with this link. All posts.
- I also pseudonymously run a rarely updated website/blog on the LDS temple and temple preparation called MormonMonastery.
Most relevant for Old Testament-
- I’m quite proud of “Why Bible Translations Differ: A Guide for the Perplexed” and its venue. Religious Educator (January 2014). Link and a longer summary at Times&Seasons.
- My three-part series on the note taking aspect of scripture study. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
- What to Read for Old Testament, 2014. This is an annotated list of suggested books to accompany our study.
- An annotated list of useful books for understanding the early Genesis chapters and science.
- Missing the Forest– how LDS Gospel Doctrine classes usually end up talking about the Bible.
- Elder McConkie and the Targumim- How to Help LDS Read Non-KJV Translations. (This is part of a handout, and is greatly expanded in my first link above to the Religious Educator article.)
- “The Means the Lord Has Provided”– Talking about commentaries.
- A rough treatment of why Genesis 1 is structured as 7×24-hour days, which are literal but not historical.
- Actually, all my Genesis posts.
Best of?
Here, I pick a few of my best or most useful writings. Since I’ve been writing for ten years, there’s a lot of dross getting filtered out here.
- Ditto for a sacrament meeting talk I gave, on “Preparing Minds to Be Faithful.”
- This post using the real Monopoly rules to examine how easily we mistake tradition for scripture was popular.
- How to Accidentally Set Yourself on Fire While Teaching the Bible.
- Revelation 22, Curses and Copy Protection
- Remembrance of my first Christmas as a missionary, in eastern France.
- My experience with the troublesome Thomas Marsh episode.
- Celebrating May 4 (1842) as Temple Day
- Another rough treatment, talking about why scripture is sometimes inconsistent, and making sure we approach scripture with the right expectations.
- Elder McConkie: Fallible Humorist?
- Thoughts on CES, teaching at BYU, and volunteer teachers in the Institute system.
- An apologion (or defense) of wanting to teach in the BYU Religion Department.
- Ten Tantalizing Tidbits about the Book of Mormon.
- Why “helpmate” and “helpmeet” drive me crazy, and are complete misunderstandings as well.
- Brigham Young on Studying Evil and Living in the Bubble.f
- Joseph Smith’s Home Teacher, and Social Roles.
- Beggars, Amos, Moses, and the Didache
- Would an Official LDS Translation of the Bible be a an Improvement? Or a PR Disaster?