For years, scholars have grappled with the apparent editing that seems to have taken place in the book of Jeremiah. Some have argued for varying degrees of what many of them called “Deuteronomistic” influences.[1]The “Deuteronomistic Editor” is a term used for the idea proposed in scholarship that much of theContinue Reading

Ancient prophets foretold the destruction of the merchant city of Tyre.[1]See Ezekiel 26-28 and Isaiah 23. Ezekiel prophesied that Tyre would be attacked by Nebuchadrezzar (Ezk. 26.7) and that “he shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field” (Ezk. 26.8) and “break down thy towers” (Ezk. 26.9) andContinue Reading

Recently a listener to the podcast brought this question to a message board: What was going on with the Levites during all these different apostasies? Are they the priests that are willingly sacrificing to false idols? I have read that the Levite lineage has been preserved to some degree inContinue Reading

The slides for this podcast are in pdf format here. The podcast outline with notes is here. To see a color-coded version of the two narratives of P and J that together compose the Flood narrative, go here. For a pdf copy of this color-coded text, go here.Continue Reading

Joseph Smith’s first plural marriage, from the historical sources we now have, seems to have been a young woman by the name of Fanny Alger. While there are missing gaps in the record, from the collected sources we do have some information. From Saints,[1]Saints, Volume 1: The Standard of Truth,Continue Reading

D&C 129 – Instructions by Joseph Smith, Nauvoo, Feb. 9, 1843 Historical Background When the Prophet first learned these principles contained in D&C 129 is not known. We can be confident, however, that it was some time before this section was recorded. Given that all priesthood and keys restored inContinue Reading

D&C 84 September 22-23, 1832 Historical Background Garrett and Robinson give the following insightful commentary to set up the historical background of this section: After spending two weeks in Missouri “sitting in council with the Saints,” organizing the Missouri branch of the united firm, and providing for the establishment ofContinue Reading

Seven of the eleven witnesses of the Book of Mormon were members of the Whitmer family by blood or marriage. The Book of Mormon translation was finished at the Whitmer home in Fayette; near it the Three Witnesses saw Moroni and the plates; there the organization of the Church andContinue Reading

Jephthah’s Daughter and her sacrifice Victor Ludlow approaches the text knowing Hebrew, thus giving readers at least a couple of options in examining this text. He was a Danforth Fellow at Harvard and Brandeis University where he received his Ph.D. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. From Victor Ludlow’s commentaryContinue Reading

Historical Background – Martin Harris By 1827, Martin Harris had built a comfortable life for himself in Palmyra, New York. He married his cousin Lucy in 1808, fought in the war of 1812, and by 1827 Martin had had acquired 320 acres of farmland, made them profitable through his industry andContinue Reading