Early Modern English
Scholars of English demarcate eras in the evolution of the language. The date ranges below reflect the fact that not all scholars agree on the precise beginning and ending points.A.D. 450 was the...
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Necks of Land
Now that we know the Lord's language target for the Book of Mormon (see the blog article "Early Modern English") was the Tudor period into the Stuart period (1500's and 1600's), we are prepared to...
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Romance Languages
It is instructive to see how LDS translators have handled the "neck" passages (Alma 22:32, Alma 63:5 and Ether 10:20) in the Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian versions of the Book of...
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OED on Necks of Land
Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language appeared just two years before the Book of Mormon. In the early 1980's as FARMS was beginning its contribution to Mormon scholarship, we...
View ArticleA Book of Mormon Trifecta
If the Book of Mormon geography problem is solved in this generation as I believe it will be, these three resources will prove pivotal:The 2009 Yale edition of the text edited by Royal Skousen. Based...
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OED on Rivers
Using the Oxford English Dictionary, we will shed some lexical light on the river Sidon and its head, paying particular attention to Early Modern English (see the blog article by that name) senses of...
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OED on Waters
This article explores the Book of Mormon text and the Oxford English Dictionary to shed light on the phrases "waters of Sidon,""waters of Sebus,""waters of Mormon,""waters of Ripliancum," etc. The text...
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Between Things
The Yale edition of the Book of Mormon text uses the word "between" 33 times in a meticulously consistent way. Entity A is between entities B and C when B & C are analogous but A is apart and...
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New Day for the Book of Mormon
In between general conference sessions on Sunday, October 5, 2014 the Church broadcast perhaps the finest documentary ever made about the Book of Mormon. Written and directed by Russ Holt (How Rare a...
View ArticleA Nephite
This article will examine all 7 occurrences of the phrase "a Nephite" in the text in an attempt to clarify the sense of meaning that term held for the authors of the Book of Mormon.Alma 8:20 "And the...
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OED on Narrow
To better understand Alma 22:32, Alma 63:5 and Ether 10:20 we looked at all textual occurrences of the words "narrow,""strait" and "small" in the Book of Mormon to get a sense of the Nephite meaning of...
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Test #7 Land Areas
Based on textual criteria and Mesoamerican topography, we have created a preliminary map for 31 local lands mentioned by name or description in the Book of Mormon. The text describes most of them as...
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Meet the Mormons
My wife and I saw "Meet the Mormons" for the 4th time last night. Our first viewing was an Internet stream sent out to LDS Bishops. Our next experience was with 25 family members on October 10th,...
View ArticleBMAF 2014
The 12th Annual Book of Mormon Lands Conference sponsored by the Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum (BMAF) was held on Saturday, October 18, 2014 at the Salt Lake Sheraton. Robert Starling chaired...
View ArticleBorders
We find the term "borders" 75 times in the Book of Mormon, once referring to the bounds of a person's home or property 3 Nephi 22:12 (citing Isaiah 54:12), once referring to the extent of the Kingdom...
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Test #8 Limhi Expedition
Ca. 121 B.C. beleaguered King Limhi dispatched an expedition from the city of Nephi to find the land of Zarahemla and request aid Mosiah 21:25. The 43 explorers never found Zarahemla. They found the...
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Benjamin Cluff Expedition Route & Distances
While Benjamin Cluff (1858-1948) was President of Brigham Young Academy, later BYU, he led an audacious group of explorers on a hemispheric quest to find the city of Zarahemla which they thought was on...
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Apostolic Witness
One of the strongest testimonies of the Book of Mormon I have heard was given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in October, 2009 General Conference. His stirring witness was redacted into a powerful 4 1/2...
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The Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon
Neal Rappleye and I spent the afternoon yesterday with Jack Welch in his office. He described his presentation in July to the Jewish Law Association Conference at the University of Antwerp. His paper...
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Sermon at the Temple
The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 - 7 may be the single most influential religious text in all of recorded history. It defines the essence of Christianity for multitudes past and present. The fact...
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