Category: Scripture
What Did Oliver Look at When He Began to Translate? Or, What Doctrine and Covenants 9 Really Tells Us About the Translation of the Book of Mormon
Quick overview: Doctrine and Covenants 9 refers to a time when Oliver Cowdery had permission to attempt to translate the Book of Mormon. He “began to translate” (Doctrine and Covenants…
The Word of Wisdom and the Science of Secret Combinations, Part 2: Real Science vs. the Idolatrous “Cult of Science”
(Also see “Part 1: The ‘Evils and Designs of Conspiring Men’ in Light of Book of Mormon Teachings,” Jan. 3, 2025.) Is the Word of Wisdom Growing Less Relevant? The…
The Word of Wisdom and the Science of Secret Combinations, Part 1: The “Evils and Designs of Conspiring Men” in Light of Book of Mormon Teachings
The Restoration provides impressive scope in the revelations we have received. They involve much more than the theological and spiritual realms, but dare to give us practical knowledge for living…
Secret Combinations in the Book of Mormon, Part 4: Modern Scholarship and First-hand Sources on the Workings of Secret Combinations
“And it [the Book of Mormon] shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto the Lord, because of secret combinations and the works of…
Secret Combinations in the Book of Mormon, Part 3: Circumstantial Evidence of Further Secret Combinations
In Part 1, we considered the question of why secret combinations, one of the most prolific themes in the Book of Mormon, are so rarely discussed. In Part 2,…
Register for Margaret Barker’s Master Classes on the Hebrew Scriptures
The Interpreter Foundation is pleased to offer two seminars from noted scholar Dr. Margaret Barker. Her presentations will be on two successive Saturdays, November 9 and November 16, both beginning…
Thoughts from a Sunday School Lesson on Enos and the Words of Mormon
During our recent Sunday school lesson on Enos and the Words of Mormon, I had the chance to point out a couple of apparent problems in the text that…
“Whole Worlds Are Full of His Glory”: Thoughts on a Passage from the Words of Gad the Seer
In a post on “The Words of Gad the Seer” and in a related book review for Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship, I’ve shared the dramatic…
To Bear Testimony: Insights on a Popular Latter-day Saint Phrase and Its Connections to Modern Scripture and Early Modern English
Latter-day Saints often use the verb “bear” with “testimony” when expressing their religious conviction, as in “I’d like to bear my testimony that I know that Jesus Christ lives and…
A Simple Example from the Book of Mormon Showing Why Scholarship Is Needed
Many Latter-day Saints seem unaware of the great body of scholarship that can strengthen faith and understanding for members of the Church and those exploring it. Such scholarship can be…
