Tag: Book of Mormon translation
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…
Possible Benefits of the Broad Early Modern English Elements in the Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon as dictated by Joseph Smith contains a wide spectrum of Early Modern English (EModE) elements that distinguish it from the language of the King James Bible…
Recent Discoveries and Advances Published by Interpreter, Part 1
If you aren’t following the journal Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship, you may have missed some discoveries and advances in understanding our scriptures that could be…
An Update in the Scholarship Regarding the Archaic Language in the Book of Mormon
One of the most interesting puzzles about the Book of Mormon is the recent discovery that much of the language is archaic in ways not easily explained by imitating the…
Plagiarism Made Harder, or, The Book of Ether and the Genius of Joseph’s Plagiarism
Students of the Book of Mormon have long noted that the brief book of Ether is quite different in its content and style than the rest of the Book of…
Further Thoughts on the Nephite Interpreters and Mesoamerican Culture
An important new study on relationships between the Book of Mormon and Mesoamerican culture was just published on Friday by Mark Alan Wright: “Nephite Daykeepers: Ritual Specialists in Mesoamerica and…
Joseph Smith and Champollion: Could He Have Known of the Phonetic Nature of Egyptian Before He Began Translating the Book of Abraham?
The Rosetta Stone was discovered in 1799. While Thomas Young and other scholars studied it and made some progress in better understanding Egyptian through its clues, it was Jean François…
“A Strange Piece of Work” Poorly Explained by a Non-LDS Witness of the Book of Mormon Translation
Critics of the Book of Mormon like to dismiss the detailed accounts of Book of Mormon witnesses by saying it’s simply impossible to know today what really went on back…
It Depends on What the Meaning of “It” Is: Reconsidering the “Burning in the Bosom” and “Studying It Out” in Doctrine & Covenants 9
For years many of us have read about the “burning in the bosom” in Doctrine and Covenants 9:7-9 and interpreted it to mean that Oliver Cowdery, in a failed attempt…
Matthew Bowen’s New Name as Key-Word Offers a Stunning Surge in Book of Mormon Word Plays Related to Names
While attending the 2018 FairMormon Conference in Provo this summer, I was fortunate to be able to get a copy of a popular new book that sold out on its…
