‘Abraham and the Stars’ by Waylon Smith. The Book of Abraham contains a number of hidden gems that you might miss if you read the text too quickly. Take Abraham’s vision of the cosmos and the divine council in Abraham 3. Most people remember this chapter for its vivid depiction of Kolob, a star “set … Read more
Pictured: techies at Google headquarters in ancient Alexandria polishing their search engine algorithms (ca. 56 BC). Steven C. Harper (who holds a PhD in early American history from Lehigh University) is a former professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University, a current editor at the Joseph Smith Papers Project, and a historian … Read more
The first half of the eighth Article of Faith reads, “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly.” This simple statement captures the theological position on the Bible accepted by Latter-day Saints. Unlike their Protestant friends, Latter-day Saints reject the doctrine of sola scriptura and instead … Read more
The Grapes of Canaan by James Tissot (c. 1896-1902) One thing I have become attuned to looking for in scriptural narratives is irony. Due to the fact that I wrote a capstone paper on the use of irony in the work of fin-de-siècle Austrian author Arthur Schnitzler, my reading of the scriptures often looks to uncover … Read more
José Almerich (left) with my uncle Matthew Stevens (right) circa 1973–1976. This account was written by my mother Jill Stevens Smoot. The following transcription has standardized and corrected some grammar, spelling, and punctuation. This is the true story of José Almerich. From 1973–1976 my father, Robert V. Stevens, along with his wife Sue Stevens and their … Read more
A portrait of Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (1837). I wrote the following in the Fall of 2014 for a course at Brigham Young University on Deutsche Literatur des 19. Jahrhunderts. Introduction The specter of anti-Semitism in German history looms large in today’s post-Holocaust world. The great past works of German literature, ranging from Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s Nathan der Weise … Read more
It’s important that we protect America from lawless criminals and religious fanatics. (Source Wikimedia) That there could be any Mormons who espouse Islamophobia truly baffles me. Like, seriously. I cannot wrap my mind around it. If anyone should by sympathetic to the plight of a denigrated and (often maliciously) misunderstood and misrepresented religious minority in … Read more
After receiving a PhD from UC–Berkeley in 1938, Hugh Nibley fought in World War 2 as a member of military intelligence for the 101st Airborne Division. (Photo from hughnibley.net) On his blog John Gee has some comments on the legacy of Hugh Nibley, the godfather of modern Latter-day Saint scholarship of the ancient world. Among … Read more
Jesus disputed with the Pharisees over matters of the Law of Moses on a number of recorded occasions. (From LDS.org) In Judaism exists the concept of the khumrot (חומרות), or proscriptions that are implemented to safeguard the halakhah (הלכה)–––the body of Jewish religious laws–––from being transgressed. The khumrot of Orthodox Judaism are not the laws themselves, but are instead … Read more
Detail of an image inside the tomb of Sennedjem, discovered at the necropolis of Deir el-Medina and dating to the 19th dynasty. Here Sennedjem is accompanied by his wife Lyneferti and wields the “sekhem-scepter, a symbol of power.” (Image and description via Tour Egypt.) The German Egyptologist Jan Assmann has some interesting observations about the ancient … Read more
Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones (2016) At a church conference on October 25–26, 1831, the topic of the translation of the Book of Mormon arose and Joseph Smith was pressed to furnish the details pertaining thereto. According to the minutes taken at the conference, “Br. Joseph Smith jr. said that it was not intended to tell … Read more
John Dehlin delivering a TED talk in 2013. I’ve long been a fan of Jon Stewart. Being politically liberal (on most issues), I naturally enjoy his wit, humor, and political and cultural satire. I remember when in 2011 when he went on Fox News and debated Bill O’Reilly over the appropriateness of the White House … Read more
Not long ago I posted a few thoughts on the improbable battle numbers reported in the Book of Mormon. In response to my post, some offered very interesting thoughts on the interplay between archaeology, history, and the critical reading of ancient sources. Others, however, were not so nuanced. Over at the ex-Mormon Subreddit, for instance, … Read more