The Land Called Bountiful
The Book of Mormon tells of a land of "Bountiful" a fertile place on the Arabian Peninsula where Nephi built the ship that carried Lehi's group to the New World. (FARMS, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies)
Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon
The children's poem: Old King Cole was a merry old soul, a merry old soul was he, is an example of chiasmus in it simplest form.
The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon
The translator of the book of Mormon is Joseph Smith, Jr., who obtained an ancient civilization's records that had been deposited in a hill hear his home in Palmyra, New York.
The Three Major Emigrant Groups
It stands to reason that over the centuries, transoceanic contact between the Old and New World has occurred. We are fortunate to have the written account of the arrival of three of these groups -- the Jaredites (the mother race), the Nephites and the Mulekites.
Mormon & Moroni: The Principal Compilers of the Book of Mormon
Mormon and Moroni were father and son living in the Promised Land in the 4th Century. Mormon, in particularly was responsible for compiling and abridging the numerous records in his possession into a smaller book that he entrusted to his son Moroni. Both father and son witnessed the total distruction of their people and civilization in 385 AD.
Establishing Transoceanic Contacts
When the single boat load of Nephite immigrants launched their ship, from the coast of the Arabian Peninsula, into the Indian Ocean, in 592 BC, they all but vanished from the face of the earth.
Government and Legal History of The Book of Mormon
"Because the Book of Mormon focuses on religious themes, information about political and legal institutions appears
only as background for the religious account. Even so, it is apparent that several different political institutions
characterized Nephite, Lamanite, and Jaredite society." Encyclopedia of Mormonism
History of Warfare in The Book of Mormon
"Much of the Book of Mormon deals with military conflict. In diverse, informative, and morally instructive accounts,
the Book of Mormon reports a wide variety of military customs, technologies, and tactics similar to those found in
many premodern societies (before AD 1600-1700), especially some distinctive Israelite beliefs and conventions as
adapted to the region of Mesoamerica." Encyclopedia of Mormonism
Book of Mormon Authorship
"Many studies have investigated Book of Mormon authorship because the book presents itself as a composite work
of many ancient authors." Encyclopedia of Mormonism
The Book of Mormon in a Biblical Culture
"One does not need to look beyond the prevailing revivalist sects in America to discover why the earliest Mormon
elders won an immediate hearing for their sacred book." Encyclopedia of Mormonism
The Book of Mormon Chronology
"The Book of Mormon contains a chronology that is internally consistent over the thousand-year Nephite history,
with precise Nephite dates for several events, including the crucifixion of Jesus Christ." Encyclopedia of
Mormonism
Book of Mormon Commentaries
"Because the Book of Mormon is the best known and most widely circulated LDS book, many commentaries on
and reference books about it have been written to assist readers." Encyclopedia of Mormonism
Book of Mormon Economy And Technology
"The Book of Mormon reports information about three pre-Hispanic American peoples. Although its writers do not
offer a detailed picture of the economic and material culture of their societies, numerous incidental details are
preserved in the account." Encyclopedia of Mormonism
Book of Mormon Editions (1830-1981)
"Two major goals of each published edition of the Book of Mormon have been (1) to faithfully reproduce the text;
and (2) to make the text accessible to the reader." Encyclopedia of Mormonism
Book of Mormon Geography
"Although the Book of Mormon is primarily a religious record of the Nephites, Lamanites, and Jaredites, enough
geographic details are embedded in the narrative to allow reconstruction of at least a rudimentary geography of
Book of Mormon lands." Encyclopedia of Mormonism
Book of Mormon Language
"The language of the Book of Mormon exhibits features typical of a translation from an ancient Near Eastern text as
well as the stamp of nineteenth-century English and the style of the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible."
Encyclopedia of Mormonism
Book of Mormon Literature
"Although understated as literature in its clear and plain language, the Book of Mormon exhibits a wide variety of
literary forms, including intricate Hebraic poetry, memorable narratives, rhetorically effective sermons, diverse
letters, allegory, figurative language, imagery, symbolic types, and wisdom literature." Encyclopedia of
Mormonism
Book of Mormon Manuscripts
"The printed versions of the Book of Mormon derive from two manuscripts." Encyclopedia of Mormonism
Book of Mormon Names
"The Book of Mormon contains 337 proper names and 21 gentilics (or analogous forms) based on proper names."
Encyclopedia of Mormonism
Book of Mormon Near Eastern Background
"According to the Book of Mormon, the Jaredites, the Nephites, and the "Mulekites" (see Mulek) migrated to the
Western Hemisphere from the Near East in antiquity, a claim that has been challenged." Encyclopedia of
Mormonism
People in the Book of Mormon
Discusses both the distinct groups of people mentioned in the Book of Mormon and individual personalities.
Book of Mormon Plates and Records
"The Book of Mormon is a complex text with a complicated history. It is primarily an abridgment of several earlier
records by its chief editor and namesake, Mormon. All these records are referred to as "plates" because they were
engraved on thin sheets of metal." Encyclopedia of Mormonism
Book of Mormon Studies
"Since the publication of the Book of Mormon in 1830, a substantial amount of material analyzing, defending, and
attacking it has been published." Encyclopedia of Mormonism
Book of Mormon Translation By Joseph Smith
"By its own terms, the Book of Mormon is a translation of an ancient book; yet Joseph Smith knew no ancient
languages at the time he dictated this text to his scribes. He and several of his close associates testified that the
translation was accomplished "by the gift and power of God" Encyclopedia of Mormonism
Book of Mormon Witnesses
"Beginning with the first edition of 1830, the Book of Mormon has generally contained two sets of testimonies—the
"Testimony of Three Witnesses" and the "Testimony of Eight Witnesses." Encyclopedia of Mormonism
The Lost 116 Pages
"The loss of the 116 pages taught Joseph Smith and his associates several lessons: that one should be satisfied with
the first answers of the Lord, that keeping one's covenants is a serious matter, that God forgives the repentant in
spite of human weakness, and that through his caring foresight and wisdom the Lord fulfills his purposes."
Encyclopedia of Mormonism
Archaeology
"Archaeological data from the ancient Near East and the Americas have been used both to support and to discredit
the Book of Mormon." Encyclopedia of Mormonism
The Book of Mormon: True of False
It is impossible to read the Book of Mormon with an "open mind." Confronted on every page with the steady
assurance that what he is reading is both holy scripture and true history, the reader is soon forced to acknowledge
a prevailing mood of assent or resentment.
It was the same uncompromising "yea or nay" in the teaching of Jesus that infuriated the scribes and Pharisees
against him; the claims of the Christ allowed no one the comfortable neutrality of a middle ground. Critics of the
Book of Mormon have from the beginning attempted to escape the responsibility of reading it by simple appeal to
the story of its miraculous origin; that is enough to discredit it without further investigation.