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Expressions of Faith: Testimonies of Latter-day Saint Scholars
Susan Eaton Black
The news media often characterizes some detractors of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as “Mormon intellectuals” and presents them to the public as the thinking Mormons who know the inside story of the church. In this rush to produce controversial news, an obvious truth has been overlooked—that the LDS intellectual and academic communities are composed of strong believers in the Prophet Joseph Smith’s revelations and solid supporters of LDS Church leadership. Only at the fringes is there noticeable dissent.
Readers of Expressions of Faith will discover a marvelous, uncoached unity in these testimonies of LDS scholars. Although most of the 24 contributors are persons of substantial learning, none base their beliefs in scholarly insights. Rather, all point to an inner conviction that has come through life experience and God’s gift. As they explain, these testimonies enlighten their entire lives, including their scholarly endeavors. None feel conflict between the canons of scholarship and religious belief, but rather find the two mutually reinforcing and even necessary.
This unique book aims to strengthen people’s faith by precept and example as they pursue their own efforts to know the Lord and to understand his love and dealings with humankind.
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A Comprehensive Annotated Book of Mormon Bibliography
Donald W. Parry, Jeanette W. Miller, and Sandra A. Thorne
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Brother Brigham Challenges the Saints
Hugh Nibley
This volume in the collected works of Hugh Nibley features the gifted Latter-day Saint scholar’s reflections on the thoughts of Brigham Young regarding politics, education, leadership, and the environment. Nibley has brought together a priceless collection of the early Mormon leader’s counsel to the Saints of his era—counsel that is still relevant today. Add to these prophetic insights the scholarship and plain speaking that characterize Dr. Nibley’s works and the result is an eye-opening and sobering invitation to reevaluate our priorities.
The timeliness of Brigham’s counsel on these topics will quickly become apparent to readers, as will the unique insights that Nibley adds. Together they condemn sin and exhort us to live according to higher principles. This volume will amuse, provoke, challenge, and, above all, educate.
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Temples of the Ancient World: Ritual and Symbolism
Donald W. Parry
Three essays by Hugh Nibley, plus papers presented at the 1993 FARMS symposium, other important papers on the temple, a keynote address by Elder Marion D. Hanks (former president of the Salt Lake Temple), striking illustrations by Michael Lyon (who illustrated Nibley’s Temple and Cosmos)—these features and more make Temples of the Ancient World: Ritual and Symbolism one of the most significant volumes ever published on the temple. Twenty-four essays in this 1994 publication focus on the temple in the Hebrew Bible and ancient Near East, the New Testament, Jewish writings, and the Book of Mormon and ancient America.
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The Allegory of the Olive Tree: The Olive, the Bible, and Jacob 5
Stephen D. Ricks and John W. Welch
In the Book of Mormon, the allegory of the olive tree—written by a prophet named Zenos and later quoted by the prophet Jacob to his people—stands out as a unique literary creation worthy of close analysis and greater appreciation. Besides its exceptional length and exquisite detail, this text conveys important teachings, deep emotion, and wisdom related to God’s tender devotion and aspirations for the house of Israel on earth.
In The Allegory of the Olive Tree, 20 scholars shed light on the meaning, themes, and rhetorical aspects of the allegory, as well as on its historical, cultural, and religious backgrounds. In so doing, they offer answers to questions about the significance of olive tree symbolism in the ancient Near East, who Zenos was, the meaning of the allegory, what it teaches about the relationship between God and his people, how it might relate to other ancient texts, the accuracy of the horticultural and botanical details in the text, and much more.
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Of All Things! Classic Quotations from Hugh Nibley
Gary P. Gillum
When you hear the name “Hugh Nibley” what do you think of? Intellect? Scholarship? Ancient religions? Temple worship? The study of civilizations? Surely, but there’s more. Brother Nibley has a keen sense of humor. And he turns a pithy phrase as no one else can. Here in one volume are many of the most entertaining and also the deepest of Brother Nibley’s thoughts on society, science, education, Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon and other sacred writings, the temple, sustaining church leaders, and many other topics. These are not the jottings of some stuffy scholar. These are gems of thought — terse, humorous, wry, and profound — clothed in a language that is so distinctly Hugh Nibley. What emerges from the quotations is the portrait of a rare philosopher – a thinker with the mind of a scholar and the heart of a believer.
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Offenders for a Word: How Anti-Mormons Play Word Games to Attack the Latter-Day Saints
Daniel C. Peterson and Stephen D. Ricks
This book reveals the tactics many anti-Mormons employ in attacking the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In clear, straightforward terms, the authors explain the true beliefs of the church and how to see through the word games that critics use to attack it.
Offenders for a Word answers critics’ objections to Latter-day Saint beliefs regarding the Godhead, polygamy, salvation by grace and works, eternal progression, the premortal existence, the role of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the nature of the Holy Ghost, and much more.
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Reexploring the Book of Mormon: A Decade of New Research
John W. Welch
The Book of Mormon invites exploration and reexploration. After more than 150 years of careful reading, we are still learning to appreciate its fullness, understand its origins, and comprehend its messages. Reexploring the Book of Mormon yields a wealth of new insights. More than ever before, patient and skillful research during the past decade has led from one discovery to another. Since 1981, the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (F.A.R.M.S.) has issued articles and updates—brief, readable reports on current discoveries about the origins and contents of the Book of Mormon. Eighty-five of these findings published through 1991 have been collected in this volume. This type of research does more than gather circumstantial evidence for the Book of Mormon. It explores many avenues of the record’s internal complexity. It helps define the rich literary, anthropological, historical, and spiritual settings in which this scripture was written and translated.
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The Ancient State: The Rulers and the Ruled
Hugh Nibley
One important key to understanding modern civilization is a familiarity with its ancient background. Many modern principles and practices–social, political, and even economic–have clear parallels in antiquity. A careful study of these forerunners of our traditions, particularly as they contributed to the downfall of earlier civilizations, may help us avoid some of the mistakes of our predecessors.
The Ancient State, by Hugh Nibley, is a thought-provoking examination of assorted aspects of ancient culture, from the use of marked arrows to the surprisingly universal conception of kinship, from arguments of various schools of philosophy to the rise of rhetoric. Author Hugh Nibley brings his usual meticulous research and scholarship to bear in this enlightening collection of essays and lectures.
It has been said that only by learning the lessons of history can we hope to avoid repeating them. For scholar and novice alike, The Ancient State is a valuable source of such learning.
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Tinkling Cymbals and Sounding Brass: The Art of Telling Tales about Joseph Smith and Brigham Young
Hugh Nibley
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1). Since then, the terms “tinkling cymbals” and “sounding brass” have often been used to signify words of emptiness and confusion – describing perfectly most writings critical of the Latter-day Saints. Trained in history and interested in classical rhetoric, Hugh Nibley brings a broad perspective to his study of anti-Mormon writings.
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Rediscovering the Book of Mormon: Insights that you may have missed before
John L. Sorenson and Melvin J. Thorne
This book shares the exciting results of scholarly research on the Book of Mormon undertaken during the 1980s. As an ancient religious text and cultural artifact, the Book of Mormon rewards close analysis along many lines of inquiry. Twenty-three essays by prominent LDS scholars cover such topics as warfare, repentance, Exodus motifs, Hebraisms, kingship, politics, Isaiah, Mormon as editor, chiasmus, covenant renewal, and poetry.
These studies aim to demonstrate that the Book of Mormon contains complex patterns not previously recognized—that is, subtle patterns of style, ideas, history, and actions that, once made visible, shed much light on the power and beauty of the book and stimulate greater appreciation and respect for it.
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By Study and Also by Faith: Essays in Honor of Hugh W. Nibley, Vol. 2
John M. Lundquist and Stephen D. Ricks
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Warfare in the Book of Mormon
Stephen D. Ricks and William J. Hamblin
“People may well ask: Why study warfare in the Book of Mormon? There are so many answers, among which are these: to understand better the events in the Book of Mormon, to develop a perspective against which to understand its teachings and messages, to enjoy the interesting lives of a remarkable people, and to aid in assaying the historicity of the book, ” writes John W. Welch at the beginning of Warfare in the Book of Mormon.
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Approaching Zion
Hugh Nibley
When shall we see Zion? In 1833 the Lord told Joseph Smith, “There is even now already in store sufficient, yea, even an abundance, to redeem Zion, and establish her waste places, to no more be thrown down, were the churches, who call themselves after my name, willing to hearken to my voice” (D&C 101:75). In Approaching Zion, Hugh Nibley echoes this message—that the Latter-day Saints will see Zion when they stop seeking Babylon.
Compiled from two decades of writing on this subject, these stimulating essays are provocative and sobering, based as they are, in Nibley fashion, on ample reference to the scriptures and the best thinking of all ages. Many of the essays have a highly informal flavor, being carefully edited transcriptions of Nibley’s rapid-fire, often extemporaneous remarks from notecards. We see his mind constantly at work, even in the midst of formal discourse, working and reworking ideas and resource materials, ever discovering and making new connections and drawing new inferences.
Because these essays deal with contemporary issues, some readers may find them controversial in places. This only underscores their importance. Nibley fully intended to shake us up, make us think, and call us to repentance. In this volume, he succeeds.
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The Prophetic Book of Mormon
Hugh Nibley
The Book of Mormon is a prophetic book. It was written by prophets and about prophets. It was foreseen by prophets and foresees our day. It was brought forth by prophetic gifts for prophetic purposes. It speaks in a clarion voice of warning to those who would survive the last days.
The articles in this volume, brought together under one cover for the first time, approach the Book of Mormon through a variety of prophetic themes. They speak out incisively on such topics as the prophecy of Ezekiel 37, internal and external evidences of the divine origin of the Book of Mormon, literary style in the Book of Mormon, ancient temples and the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Mormon’s teachings for the last days.
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Lehi in the Desert; The World of the Jaredites; There Were Jaredites
Hugh Nibley
Gifted Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley may be best known for his pioneering investigations into the ancient Near Eastern backgrounds of Lehi and the Jaredites in the Book of Mormon. Three of those classic studies are combined in this volume.
Dr. Nibley’s vast learning in history, culture, archaeology, languages, and literature enabled him to identify evidences of the ancient Near Eastern cultural world in the Book of Mormon and to flesh out that background in a compelling manner. Much of that evidence is direct and strong, providing a constant stream of rare insights into the lives of Lehi and the Jaredites, as well as clarifying perspectives on the Book of Mormon as an authentic ancient text.
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Since Cumorah
Hugh Nibley
A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts.
These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well.
That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.
Drawing upon a multitude of Hebrew, Coptic, and early Christian texts, Dr. Nibley looks at both the background and the text of the Book of Mormon. He compares the Book of Mormon with the Bible, the Apocrypha, and the records of the primitive church and related or apostate groups.
He examines its philologically; that is, he examines its language and literature and their relationship. He deals with a number of scientific questions that it poses. Historically, he covers major events, such as the great earthquake; prophetic figures, such as Zenos; and wars, especially during the military career of Moroni. Finally, he discusses the Book of Mormon as prophecy: its themes, warnings, and promises.
Since Cumorah has become, since its first printing, a standard in Book of Mormon scholarship. In this new edition, the text and notes have been checked and reedited, and the editors have restored substantial blocks of material published in the magazine version of this work but not included in the first edition of the book.
Although Dr. Nibley stresses that our knowledge of the ancient world will remain forever tentative, he shows that the book once ridiculed by scholars has a right to be taken seriously and to be reevaluated in light of the documents discovered since the publication of the Book of Mormon.
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Mormonism and Early Christianity
Hugh Nibley
From the outset of his career, Dr. Hugh Nibley has been centrally concerned with primitive Christianity, especially the shadowy era between the New Testament proper and the emergence and the triumph of the Catholic Church and Holy Roman Empire. That is the era treated in the nine essays collected in this volume.
The essays cover such subjects as early accounts of Jesus’ childhood, the Savior’s forty-day ministry after his resurrection, baptism for the dead in ancient times, the passing of the primitive church, and the early Christian prayer circle.
Each essay examines the close connection between the practices and the doctrines of the early Church and the Church of the latter days. Each essay has been reedited, and all the original sources have been rechecked. Many of the conclusions and arguments in these articles will stand in future scholarship; others will be discarded. But Hugh Nibley’s work has laid the foundation for all further discussion.
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The World and the Prophets: The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley Volume 3
Hugh Nibley
In 1954, Hugh Nibley delivered a series of weekly lectures on KSL Radio. The series called “Time Vindicates the Prophets,” was given in answer to those who were challenging the right of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to call themselves Christians.
Just as the Church’s beliefs and institutions were under attack when these lectures were first given, so today’s critics are again attacking the Latter-day Saints’ conception of God, their claim to continuous revelation, their belief in Joseph Smith as a prophet of God, their acceptance of the Book of Mormon as a true record, and their insistence that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church of Jesus Christ. The answers given by professor Nibley then are as valid today as they are timely.
Dr. Nibley writes: “We make no attempt to argue out the position of the Church . . . Here we are simply indicating briefly that for better or worse, the Mormons consistently find themselves in a company of ancient Saints and, accordingly far removed from the ways of conventional Christians… It is an historical, not a theological or philosophical, vindication of our prophets.” But Professor Nibley does far more than point out identities of doctrines, practices, and institutions between Latter-day Saints and Christians.
He also describes with great clarity how the Church changed from an organization with inspired prophets into a thoroughly different and alien institution built upon the learning of men. He shows how prophecy was replaced with self-induced mystical experience, and how the magical wonder-making of the pagans was substituted for the gifts of the spirit.
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Enoch the Prophet
Hugh Nibley
In the Book of Moses, part of the Latter-day Saint scriptural canon known as the Pearl of Great Price, are what the Prophet Joseph Smith entitled “extracts from the prophecy of Enoch.” These scriptures, says the eminent LDS scholar Hugh Nibley, “supply us with the most valuable control yet on the bona fides of the Prophet. . . . We are to test. . . . ‘How does it compare with records known to be authentic?’ The excerpts offer the nearest thing to a perfectly foolproof test—neat, clear-cut, and decisive—of Joseph Smith’s claim to inspiration.”
In Enoch the Prophet, Dr. Nibley examines and defends that claim by examining Joseph Smith’s translations in the context of recently discovered apocryphal sources. This second volume in Nibley’s collected works includes four chapters: “Enoch the Prophet,” “The Enoch Figure,” “The Book of Enoch as Theodicy,” and “A Strange Thing in the Land: The Return of the Book of Enoch.”
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Old Testament and Related Studies
Hugh Nibley
In December 1832, the Lord instructed the Prophet Joseph Smith, “Seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”
Few members of the Church have followed that admonition as faithfully as has Hugh Nibley, emeritus professor of ancient history at Brigham Young University. As a young man he memorized vast portions of Shakespeare and studied Old English, Latin, Greek and other languages. As a student at Berkeley, in he began reading the southwest corner of the ninth level of the library and worked his way down to the northeast corner of the first level, studying every significant book that caught his eye. And throughout his life, he has related everything he has learned to the greatest knowledge of all-the word of the Lord, as revealed in the scriptures and in the temple.
Not content with that, however, Dr. Nibley has dedicated himself to being a teacher, to sharing with others the knowledge he has gleaned through his vast studies. He has lectured and published widely, producing more than three hundred papers and books on a wide variety of subjects.
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