Covenant Language in Biblical Religions and the Book of Mormon

Authors

Noel B. Reynolds

Keywords

Book of Mormon studies, Bible studies, Biblical religions, covenants, covenant language, KJV, Protestant

Abstract

Because twenty-first-century public discourse in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seems to feature the language of covenant more and more often, it may be helpful to step back and reexamine the scriptural and historical backgrounds for covenant theology and terminology. When the Restoration took shape in the first half of the nineteenth century, it was dependent primarily on the language of the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible and contemporary Protestant teachings for a context in which to interpret the language of Joseph Smith’s revelations and the Book of Mormon. After two centuries of modern linguistic and historical investigation, we now know that both the KJV and Protestant teachings were limited and even problematic as guides to the ancient cultures that produced the earliest scriptural references to biblical covenants that would have shaped the understandings of the first authors of the Book of Mormon.

Recommended Citation

Reynolds, Noel B. (2022) "Covenant Language in Biblical Religions and the Book of Mormon," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 61: Iss. 2, Article 8.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol61/iss2/8