Category: Ancient Near East
Ancient Temple Themes in the Book of Mormon
Over at The Nauvoo Times, my latest post, “The Temple in the Book of Mormon,” points to several recent discoveries or scholarly developments that help us better appreciate the influence…
The Significance of Nahom: Just Three Letters?
When thoughtfully understood, the evidence for Book of Mormon plausibility and authenticity related to Nephi’s account of crossing the Arabian Peninsula are profound and impressive. The modern findings and insights…
Chrism, Temples, and Interesting Books and Texts
There are a few books I’d like recommend to serious LDS students of the Temple. Several time previously I’ve mentioned Sinai and Zion: An Entry into the Jewish Bible by…
A Temple Gone Dark: An Important New Slant on the Themes of Nephi’s Vision and Lehi’s Dream
Lehi’s famous dream and Nephi’s expanded version of the vision just became more meaningful, thanks to the insights offered by D. John Butler in his ebook, Plain and Precious Things:…
Truer Than Ever: The Book of Abraham
One of the biggest challenges to my personal testimony of the reality of the Restoration came when I was serving as Bishop years ago. I was exploring one of the…
“Whither Shall I Go for Ore?” – Another Subtle Requirement for Bountiful’s THREE Excellent Candidates
Among the many shreds of allegedly non-existent evidence in favor of the authenticity of the Book of Mormon, some of the recent finds in the Arabian Peninsula are perhaps the…
Early Christianity and the (Restored) Concept of Three Degrees of Glory
A page in Barry Bickmores’ “Mormonism and Early Christianity” site provides some information from early Christian writings that are consistent with the Latter-day Saint doctrine of three degrees of glory…
King Benjamin’s Speech: Forget Solomon Spaulding, Ethan Smith, and Shakespeare
Talk about great literature! Take a look at the powerful and classic ancient Semitic speech of King Benjamin in the early chapters of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon. In…
Mormon Temples and “Secrecy”
I’ve often received questions about the issue of “secrecy” in Mormon temples. To us, the key factor is what is sacred, not secret, but this still leaves many people confused,…
