Category: Scriptures

  • The War Chapters

    Julie M. Smith

    And a great sleep did come over the land; yea, verily, there was much dozing and nodding of heads in all of the sabbath schools.

  • Revelation 3:1-13

    Julie M. Smith

    Previous posts in this series are here.

  • Revelation 2:12-29

    Julie M. Smith

    Previous post in this series here.

  • Reading Psalm 137 as a Microcosm of Discipleship

    Nate Oman

    Psalm 137 is one of those wonderful and paradoxical passages of scripture that contains within itself a universe.

  • Jesus Said . . .

    Julie M. Smith

    I’m reading a commentary on Psalms and in the section on the authorship of the Psalms, the writer has this to say:

  • Korihor and the United States Reports

    Nate Oman

    Let’s read the Book of Mormon as a commentary on American constitutional law and vice versa. Alma 30:7-10 reads:

  • Moral Hazard in the Scriptures

    Frank McIntyre

    For those hoping to find more economics in their scripture study…

  • Egyptian Brass Plates and a naming contest

    Frank McIntyre

    If this is common knowledge I completely missed it. So I post this in memory of all those who also slept through indecent chunks of early morning Seminary.

  • Women Who Know

    Patricia Karamesines

    … grow tomatoes in their home garden, and lots of them. Men who know grow them, too.

  • Amazon’s take on the Book of Mormon

    Frank McIntyre

    Amazon.com has an algorithm for noting the “Statistically Improbably Phrases” in any given book. The idea is to look for word combinations that are uncommon generally but common in the book in the hope that this provides potential buyers some insight into what the book is about. Here are the ones for the Doubleday edition…

  • Joseph and Moses

    Frank McIntyre

    Most are acquainted with the passage in D&C 130 where God gives a fascinating response to Joseph’s query about the Second Coming:

  • We Did It

    Russell Arben Fox

    We’ve finally read the entire Book of Mormon as a family, all of us (those that can read, anyway) taking turns verse by verse. It only took us four and a half years, and we’re ready to do it again.

  • Scriptures as Seer Stones

    Michael McBride

    To me, the most interesting thing about the seer stone that Joseph used when translating the BoM is not that he used it but that it is really just a rock. From what I understand, if you or I were to pick it up, we couldn’t tell it apart from any other smooth rock of…

  • History and Scripture

    Jim F.

  • Testifying of historicity

    Frank McIntyre

    As I was re-reading conference, I came across this closing statement by President Hinckley:

  • True Neighbors

    Frank McIntyre

    Suppose that you splurged for the $6 version of the Church’s scriptures on CDROM. It has various ancient language toys that I am in no position to evaluate but am happy to play with. It also has a fun little tool such that when you do a search, you can click on a tab “Sort…

  • The KJV: A Sealed Book?

    Julie M. Smith

    I’ve been teaching the second half of the Old Testament in Institute this semester. The KJV is a terrible obstacle to understanding the scriptures.

  • Redeeming Judas?

    Julie M. Smith

    Today’s headlines contain news of a new gospel: The Gospel of Judas.

  • Prophecy vs. History

    John Fowles

    Not too long ago, I stumbled across the PBS presentation of Jared Diamond’s book Guns, Germs, and Steel (2d ed. 1999). It reminded me of dealing with the book at college and enjoying the ideas presented and the sweeping take of world history that it offered. But while watching the presentation and contemplating the message…

  • Market Dominant Minorities in the Book of Mormon

    John Fowles

    Market Dominant Minorities

  • How to Teach a Scripture Passage

    Julie M. Smith

    Here’s a systematic approach to preparing a lesson on a passage of scripture.

  • The JST

    Julie M. Smith

    So what do we do with the JST?

  • Sometimes a Cigar is Just a Cigar

    Julie M. Smith

    So here is the case for thinking that when the crowd outside of Lot’s house asks to know Lot’s guests (Genesis 19:5) that what it means is just, like, know and not, you know, like, know.

  • Mark 14:3-9: The Anointing at Bethany as Markan Christology

    Julie M. Smith

    This [very, very, very long] post is, basically, my masters thesis. I’ve had a few requests for it, so I thought I’d post it.

  • Is Poverty Satanic?

    J. Nelson-Seawright

    One of the most important scriptural texts for the theological consideration of poverty is to be found in Alma 32. This chapter discusses Alma’s mission to the Zoramites. During a sermon on the hill Onidah, Alma is approached by a group of impoverished individuals who were “poor in heart, because of their poverty as to…

  • Hermeneutics

    Jim F.

    That’s a 25 cent word if there ever was one, something for college kids to show Mom and Dad to prove they got something for their money, something a grad student to lord it over others with in the commons.

  • Authority on Her Head

    Julie M. Smith

    When Paul says that women should cover their heads, is he subjugating them or liberating them?

  • The Pious Bias

    Julie M. Smith

    Perhaps we’ve put white hats on some people in the scriptures who don’t deserve them.

  • Book of the Mormons

    Frank McIntyre

    OK, you finished it, or got close. Maybe you were done months ago, maybe you read 100 pages in the last day.*

  • Theology and Idolatry

    Jim F.

    Let me present a sketch–though only a sketch and a very broad one at that–of how one might think about theology, both about a problem with it and one of the possible responses to that problem.