The other week I was riding in the car of a senior missionary couple when the senior sister asked me, “If the Book of Mormon was written for our day, why doesn’t it say anything about homosexuality? After all, the Bible has the story of Sodom. Why doesn’t the Book of Mormon have anything like … Read more
Over on Twitter my friend Kwaku El tweeted his dissatisfaction with those who “mock” Mormonism. The ensuing discussion centered around what exactly is meant by “mocking” and when or if it is ever appropriate when it comes to sacred things (e.g. religious doctrines). Mocking Mormonism and “participating in a dialogue” are not the same & … Read more
A depiction of Cain slaying Abel by Gustave Doré. The Gadianton Robbers are infamous among readers of the Book of Mormon. The phrase “secret combination(s),” now synonymous among Latter-day Saints for conspiracy, was used by Mormon to describe them (Helaman 2:8; 3:23; 6:38). They are introduced in the book of Helaman during “the fortieth year of … Read more
From time to time I have had friends, missionaries, and other members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ask me what I make of any supposed connection between Nephi, the opening author of the Book of Mormon, and the Nephilim of Genesis. The Nephilim, you will recall, are mentioned in Genesis 6 as the … Read more
Joseph Smith (left) and Morton Smith (right). On March 26, 1830, the Wayne Sentinel announced the publication of the Book of Mormon by the Palmyra, New York printer E. B. Grandin. The book purports to be “an abridgment of the Record of the People of Nephi” written on plates of gold. The discoverer and translator … 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
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
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
I Even Remain Alone by Walter Rane. An easy target for critics of the Book of Mormon is its reported army sizes and battle casualties. The final extermination of the Nephites, for instance, reportedly involved tens of thousands of combatants and hundreds of thousands of combatant and non-combatant casualties (Mormon 6:11–15). This pales in comparison to … Read more
When I was in junior high school I attended a performance of Annie Get Your Gun that was put on by a nearby high school. I vividly remember the number “Anything You Can Do” because the actress playing Annie Oakley broke or sprained her ankle in the middle of the performance (she badly misstepped during … Read more
The title page of the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon. Last summer there was a bit of an online tussle between Philip Jenkins, a professor of history at Baylor University, and a number of Mormon commenters (including William Hamblin, a retired professor of history at Brigham Young University) on the topic of what … Read more
“And now I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, for my soul delighteth in his words. For I will liken his words unto my people, and I will send them forth unto all my children” (2 Nephi 11:2). Nephi’s effusive love for Isaiah is well-known to readers of the Book of Mormon. Unfortunately, … Read more
Yours truly with Professor Neal Rappleye, deciphering a Maya stele that reads, “I, Nephi, made this stele.” Speaking of the lack of direct archaeological verification for an Israelite exodus from Egypt, James K. Hoffmeier, an American Egyptologist who has written extensively on the historicity of the Exodus, remarked, There are several possible reasons for this … Read more