Posted in Ancient Near East Evidence Temple

Ancient Temples, Shrines, and Altars Outside of Jerusalem

An old argument against the Book of Mormon is that no self-respecting Hebrew would even think of building a temple outside of Jerusalem as Nephi did in the New World….

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Posted in Apologetics Evidence Scholarship

Elder Holland on LDS Apologetics

Recent weeks have been interesting for the unofficial, highly heterogeneous and sometimes contradictory cluster of so-called “LDS apologists.” I fall into that motley group. In fact, I was doing LDS…

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Posted in Book of Mormon Evidence Scholarship Translation

FairMormon 2017 Conference, Day Two

Day two of the FairMormon 2017 Conference offered another series of outstanding speakers with messages covering a broad spectrum of topics. (See also my summary of day one.) Ben Spackman…

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Posted in Book of Mormon Evidence Translation

Another Surprise in the Dictated Language of the Book of Mormon

For those of you following the surprising findings regarding the language of the Book of Mormon as originally dictated by Joseph Smith, there’s a new set of data to consider…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Book of Mormon Egyptian Evidence Hebrew language wordplays

The Rod of Iron: Part of Another Intriguing Wordplay in the Book of Mormon

In a recent article I prepared for The Interpreter, “The Great and Spacious Book of Mormon Arcade Game: More Curious Works from Book of Mormon Critics” (Interpreter: A Journal of…

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Posted in Bible Book of Mormon Critics Evidence language literature poetry Scholarship Scripture

David and the Psalms in the Book of Mormon: Weakness or Strength?

Overview A 2016 graduate thesis from Kyle Beshears at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, “Davidic References in the Book of Mormon as Evidence Against its Historicity,” proposes an intriguing new…

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Posted in Book of Mormon Evidence history Mesoamerica Scholarship

Evidence At Last: The Many Aspects of John Lloyd Stephens’ Work That Strengthened Mormons in the 1840s

A delightful trend in modern Book of Mormon criticism today is to scour books, articles, and maps for information that hypothetically could have aided Joseph Smith in fabricating many of…

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Posted in Book of Mormon Evidence history Mesoamerica Problems Scholarship

In Defense of Dr. John E. Clark’s “Ludicrous” Assessment of Early Criticism of the Book of Mormon

Dr. John E. Clark’s presentation on archaeology and the Book of Mormon, the subject of a recent post here, has been taken to task by one of our critics for…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Arabian Peninsula Book of Mormon Evidence Mesoamerica Origins Problems Scholarship Science Videos

Evaluating Book of Mormon Claims: Where Do We Stand after 187 Years?

After 187 years of critics poking fun at the Book of Mormon and exposing its weaknesses, today it seems to be the established view of numerous highly educated elites that…

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Posted in Book of Mormon Evidence Hebrew language wordplays

Janus Parallelism: Book of Mormon Hints? Part 3

In Part 1 and Part 2, we looked at a total of 7 possibilities for Janus parallelism in the Book of Mormon, relying primarily on examples identified by Scott Noegel…

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