“Joseph Smith’s Translation Projects under a Microscope”

Last updated on: December 18, 2020 at 10:17 pm By Dan Peterson

Two new articles appeared today in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. The first of the two is by Brant A. Gardner: “Joseph Smith’s Translation Projects under a Microscope” Review of Producing Ancient Scripture: Joseph Smith’s Translation Projects in the Development of Mormon Christianity, edited by Michael Hubbard MacKay, Mark Ashurst-McGee, and Brian M. Hauglid (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2020). 544 pages with index. Hardback, $70. Paperback $45, eBook $40. Abstract: Producing Ancient Scripture is a collection of... Read more

“Adam and Christ, Eve and Mary at Christmastime”

Last updated on: December 18, 2020 at 2:56 pm By Dan Peterson

New on the website of the Interpreter Foundation, from Jeffrey Mark Bradshaw: “Exploring the Symbolism of Christ in Ancient Christmas Carols and Traditions: Adam and Christ, Eve and Mary at Christmastime” *** Tonight, my wife and I joined with the producer and the director of the Witnesses film project and most of its principal cast members in order to share the theatrical poster for the film and the movie trailer. The trailer and the poster... Read more

“The Most American Religion”?

Last updated on: March 27, 2023 at 12:31 pm By Dan Peterson

But, first, the latest installment of my biweekly column for the Deseret News: “How the Church of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, has survived conquerers and time” *** The Atlantic has just published one of the better articles about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: The Atlantic: “The Most American Religion: Perpetual outsiders, Mormons spent 200 years assimilating to a certain national ideal—only to find their country in an identity... Read more

Two memorable nineteenth-century stories from Santaquin and Nephi

Last updated on: December 17, 2020 at 12:53 am By Dan Peterson

Permanently stashed in the glove compartment of our car — you do know the term glove compartment, I hope; my wife’s family tend to call it a cowl pocket, a phrase that I had never heard before but which, for much of my marriage, I mistakenly heard as the even weirder and more mysterious cow pocket — my wife and I keep a copy of Halka Chronic’s Roadside Geology of Utah. (When we spend significant time in adjacent... Read more

Nephite Secret Combinations and Shining Jaredite Stones

Last updated on: December 16, 2020 at 9:00 pm By Dan Peterson

But first, I give you two items that were newly published today on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: Audio Roundtable: Come, Follow Me Book of Mormon Lesson 50 “He Shall Come into the World to Redeem His People”: Christmas The discussants in the Interpreter Radio Roundtable for Come, Follow Me Book of Mormon Lesson 50, “He Shall Come into the World to Redeem His People,” on Christmas, were Bruce Webster and Kris Frederickson. This roundtable was extracted from the 15 November 2020 broadcast of... Read more

Nephite personal names, possible religious bigotry at Utah State, and an Arizona court addresses whether Latter-day Saints are Christians

Last updated on: December 14, 2020 at 9:11 pm By Dan Peterson

The latest article to appear in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship was written by my long-time friend and former companion in the Switzerland Zürich Mission, Professor Stephen D. Ricks “Proper Names from the Small Plates: Some Notes on the Personal Names Zoram, Jarom, Omni, and Mosiah” Abstract: With a selection of a few notable examples (Zoram, Jarom, Omni, and Mosiah) that have been analyzed by the ongoing Book of Mormon names project, Stephen Ricks argues... Read more

Revision 8.7 “The Orson Hyde Memorial Garden and BYU’s Jerusalem Center”

Last updated on: December 13, 2020 at 11:58 pm By Dan Peterson

The idea of an Orson Hyde monument continued to be discussed as time went on, although some—notably Elder Howard W. Hunter of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles—worried that such a monument might compromise Church efforts and harm the Church’s image among the Arabs.[1] Finally, on 24 October 1979, the anniversary of Elder Hyde’s momentous prayer, an Orson Hyde Memorial Garden, more than five landscaped acres on the slope of the Mount of Olives, was dedicated by President... Read more

Some things that need to be accounted for

Last updated on: December 12, 2020 at 5:04 pm By Dan Peterson

First, though, here’s something new that was posted today on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: Book of Moses Essays #33: Moses 1 in Its Ancient Context: Moses 1 as a “Missing” Prologue to Genesis (Moses 1) *** Some readers here may recall that, in fits and starts, I’ve been working very occasionally on a massive project — planned to result, if it ever results in anything at all, in four or five sizable volumes... Read more

“Did Joseph Smith Hypnotize the Book of Mormon Witnesses?” and Various Other Wonders

Last updated on: December 12, 2020 at 2:26 pm By Dan Peterson

Two new book reviews, one by Jasmin Gimenez Rappleye and one by Stephen O. Smoot, appeared today in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship: “Itty Bitty Books with Big Lessons: Enos, Jarom, Omni” Review of Sharon J. Harris, Enos, Jarom, Omni: A Brief Theological Introduction (Provo, UT: The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2020). 144 pages. $9.95 (paperback). Abstract: Sharon Harris, a professor of English at Brigham Young University, offers an analysis of the theology of the “small books” of Enos, Jarom, and Omni... Read more

“My life is worth more to me than that”

Last updated on: December 12, 2020 at 2:16 pm By Dan Peterson

Newly posted on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: Interpreter Radio Show — November 29, 2020 You can now listen to or download the 29 November 2020 broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. It will also be included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast). The discussants for this episode were Daniel C. Peterson and Martin Tanner. In one hour of this installment — which, I can safely report, at least one of the participants greatly enjoyed —... Read more