Posted in Charity China Christianity Communism Travel

The Kindness of Two Chinese Strangers Turned Our Christmas Eve from Frustration to Joy

Sorry for the delay in posting this note which I wrote during the Christmas holidays and already shared on Facebook.  Christmas Eve was marvelous for us thanks to the surprising…

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Valley of Lemuel Video
Posted in Arabian Peninsula Book of Mormon Evidence

A Feast of Knowledge Awaits: New Field Work in the Arabian Peninsula Tells Us More About the Stunning Candidate Location for the River Laman and Valley of Lemuel

Prologue: Thoughts on Feasting When one eats a delicious meal prepared by a competent cook, there is a spectrum of approaches one can take. At one extreme is caveman-on-the-run style:…

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Posted in Business Critics Leadership Policies Provident Living The Church Tithing

The “Hoarding” Church

Hordes of critics are wringing their hands, often gleefully, about the uncharitable “hoarding” of the Church, based on shocking claims that the Church has been saving some of the money…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Book of Abraham Critics Egyptian Evidence history Origins Scholarship Translation

The Willard Richards Book of Abraham Manuscript 2: Live Dictation of Abraham 3 in 1842, or Copying Existing Text?

In an important publication from the Joseph Smith Papers Project, The Joseph Smith Papers, Revelations and Translations, Volume 4: Book of Abraham and Related Manuscripts, eds. Robin Scott Jensen and…

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Posted in Book of Abraham Egyptian Evidence language Origins Scripture Translation

Some Sources for the Kirtland Egyptian Paper’s Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language, Part Two

In Part 1 of this topic posted earlier this week, I reviewed several pages of entries in the first part of the Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language, one…

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Posted in Book of Mormon Evidence Problems Scholarship Science

An Update, Barely, on Barley

A Dec. 23, 2019 news release from Washington University in St. Louis reports new research results about the “lost crops” of North America that could have been more productive than…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Book of Abraham Critics Egyptian Evidence language Origins Scholarship Scripture Translation

Some Sources for the Kirtland Egyptian Paper’s Grammar and Alphabet of the Egyptian Language, Part One

One of the vital issues in Book of Abraham debates is the role of the Kirtland Egyptian Papers, including the large and mysterious work, the Grammar and Alphabet of the…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Bible Book of Mormon Evidence Temple

A Christmas Surprise: An Ancient Jewish Temple at the Same Time as Solomon’s Temple

The Dec. 23 newsletter from the Biblical Archaeology Society surprised me with a report about  another ancient Jewish temple outside of Jerusalem. See “A Rival to Solomon’s Temple” by Marek…

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Posted in Book of Abraham Books Doctrine Evidence history Prophets Scholarship Scripture Translation

Is the Book of Abraham Translation Dependent on the Kirtland Egyptian Papers? Revisiting The Pearl of Greatest Price

A potentially troublesome flaw in the discussion of the Book of Abraham in the generally good book by Terryl Givens (with Brian Hauglid), The Pearl of Greatest Price, is its…

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Posted in Book of Mormon Books Evidence history Origins Scholarship Scripture

A Breakthrough in Understanding the Book of Mormon: Don Bradley’s Brilliant Sleuthing on the Lost 116 Pages (or Lost 400 Pages!)

Don Bradley’s new book, The Lost 116 Pages: Reconstructing the Book of Mormon’s Missing Stories (Draper, UT: Greg Kofford Books, 2019), is something I’ve been looking forward to for many…

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