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***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I presented a lecture last week in connection with the Interpreter Foundation\u2019s upcoming \u201cUltimate Egypt Tour,\u201d under the title \u201cWhat You Need to Know About Egypt\u2019s Most Recent Two Thousand Years.\u201d\u00a0 That lecture is now available online and at no charge for anybody who cares to watch it.\u00a0 You simply need to scroll down on the page to which I link immediately below.\u00a0 Of course, as you scroll down you\u2019ll also notice many other lectures that may interest you more than mine.\u00a0 Enjoy!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Ultimate Egypt \u2013 Interpreter Foundation Tour: Lecture Series\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n ***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I don\u2019t believe that I called attention to this relatively new little essay when it appeared:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Book of Moses Essays #77: Noah (Moses 8) Was Noah Drunk or in a Vision? (Genesis 9)<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n ***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n And here, while I\u2019m at it, are a few links to articles in a prior issue of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship<\/em>:<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Daniel C. Peterson, \u201c\u201cAll Can Partake, Freely\u201d\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Abstract:\u00a0<\/strong>The Interpreter Foundation welcomes faithful ideas, insights, and manuscripts from people of all backgrounds. In this brief essay, I\u00a0share some that were recently shared with me regarding Lehi\u2019s vision of the tree of life, as recorded in 1\u00a0Nephi\u00a08. Among other things, Lehi seems to have been shown that the divine offer of salvation extends far beyond a\u00a0small elite. As Peter exclaims in the King James rendering of Acts\u00a010:34, \u201cGod is no respecter of persons.\u201d Other translations render the same words as saying that he doesn\u2019t \u201cplay favorites\u201d or \u201cshow partiality.\u201d The passage in James\u00a01:5 with which the Restoration commenced clearly announces that, if they will simply ask, God \u201cgiveth to all men liberally.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Alan Goff, \u201cWorking out Salvation History in the Book of Mormon Politeia with Fear and Trembling\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Review of James\u00a0E.\u00a0Faulconer,\u00a0Mosiah: A\u00a0Brief Theological Introduction<\/em>\u00a0(Provo, UT: Neal\u00a0A.\u00a0Maxwell\u00a0Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2020). 135 pages. $9.95 (paperback).<\/span><\/p>\n Abstract:<\/strong>\u00a0The Maxwell Institute for the Study of Religion has released another book in its series\u00a0<\/em>The Book\u00a0of\u00a0Mormon: Brief Theological Introductions. This book by James\u00a0E.\u00a0Faulconer more than ably engages five core elements of the book of Mosiah, exploring their theological implications. Faulconer puzzles through confusing passages and elements: why is the book rearranged so that it isn\u2019t in chronological order? What might King Benjamin mean when he refers to the nothingness of humans? And what might Abinadi mean when he declares that Christ is both the Father and the Son? The most interesting parts of the introduction to Mosiah are those chapters that sort through the discussion of politics as both Alma1<\/sub>\u00a0and Mosiah2<\/sub>\u00a0sort out divine preferences in constitutional arrangements as the Nephites pass through a\u00a0political revolution that shifts from rule by kings to rule by judges. Faulconer asserts that no particular political structure is preferred by God; in the chapter about economic arrangements, Faulconer (as in his analysis of political constitutions) asserts that deity doesn\u2019t endorse any particular economic relationship.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Royal Skousen, \u201cThe Pleading Bar of God\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Abstract:<\/strong>\u00a0Royal Skousen\u2019s essay shed light on enigmatic references in Jacob 6:13 and Moroni 10:34 to \u201cthe pleasing bar of God.\u201d After establishing that the term \u201cpleading bar\u201d is an appropriate legal term, he cites both internal evidence and the likelihood of scribal errors as explanations for why \u201cpleasing bar,\u201d instead of the more likely \u201cpleading bar,\u201d appears in current editions of the Book of Mormon.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n [Editor\u2019s Note:\u00a0<\/strong>Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article is reprinted here as a service to the LDS community. Original pagination and page numbers have necessarily changed, otherwise the reprint has the same content as the original.<\/span><\/p>\n See Royal Skousen, \u201cThe Pleading Bar of God,\u201d in\u00a0\u201cTo Seek the Law of the Lord\u201d: Essays in Honor of John W. Welch,<\/em>\u00a0ed. Paul Y. Hoskisson and Daniel C. Peterson (Orem, UT: The Interpreter Foundation, 2017), 413\u201328. Further information at https:\/\/interpreterfoundation.org\/books\/to-seek-the-law-of-the-lord-essays-in-honor-of-john-w-welch-2\/.]<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Amanda Colleen Brown, \u201cSubtle Hebraic Features in the Book of Mormon<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Review of Donald\u00a0W.\u00a0Parry,\u00a0Preserved in Translation: Hebrew and Other Ancient Literary Forms in the Book\u00a0of\u00a0Mormon<\/em>\u00a0(Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2020). 171 pages. Hardback, $19.99.<\/span><\/p>\n Abstract:<\/strong>\u00a0Donald\u00a0W.\u00a0Parry combines a\u00a0lifetime of insights about the Old Testament and Book\u00a0of\u00a0Mormon into one volume. Written for a\u00a0non-\u200aacademic audience, this book will provide a\u00a0glimpse into some of the Book\u00a0of\u00a0Mormon\u2019s literary complexities that originate from Hebrew grammar and style.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Robert F. Smith, \u201cPoesy and Prosody in the Book of Mormon\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Abstract:<\/strong>\u00a0Robert Smith makes the case that \u201cpoetic art in the Book of Mormon is highly developed\u201d \u2014 you just need to have the eye to recognize it. Though many readers are aware of the stunning examples of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, thanks to the pioneering work by John W. Welch, fewer are acquainted with the other important forms of parallelism that pervade the text, often placed strategically to highlight the importance of a particular passage. Smith also shows why apocalpytic texts, sometimes thought to originate at a later period, can be found, for example, in the first chapter of the Book of Mormon.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n [Editor\u2019s Note:\u00a0<\/strong>Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article is reprinted here as a service to the LDS community. Original pagination and page numbers have necessarily changed, otherwise the reprint has the same content as the original.<\/span><\/p>\n See Robert F. Smith, \u201cPoesy and Prosody in the Book of Mormon,\u201d in\u00a0\u201cTo Seek the Law of the Lord\u201d: Essays in Honor of John W. Welch,<\/em>\u00a0ed. Paul Y. Hoskisson and Daniel C. Peterson (Orem, UT: The Interpreter Foundation, 2017), 429\u201367. Further information at\u00a0https:\/\/interpreterfoundation.org\/books\/to-seek-the-law-of-the-lord-essays-in-honor-of-john-w-welch-2\/<\/a>.]<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n