LDSWhy.com Tells Youth Why...

Got Youth?  Point them to LDSWhy.com with the questions they won't ask you but that you know they have.  I give this site points on the engaging design alone.  It's eye-candy and fun to fiddle around with on its own.  But the value it carries is priceless when you consider how many LDS youth are ashamed or afraid to ask simple questions about what they learn in Seminary.  Why?  Fear of what peers will think of them for asking and/or fear of knowing God will expect them to live up to a higher standard while everyone around them seems to be striving to live the lowest standards possible.  Just move your mouse over the numbers and it spins like a jukebox of inquiries of eternal import.  Your question isn't there? Ask it in the form to the top right.  Answers appear in the excellently put together blog.  There are other resources on the top left.  Of course, there's a book you can buy, as well as an official Facebook page.

Improvements at American Testament

You may have noticed some changes to the American Testament blog.  For one, we're experimenting with Google's AdSense to display LDS-relevant advertisements under each post. One hundred percent of the monetary proceeds of people clicking on these ads will go toward funding improvements for LuckyHill Orphanage near Accra, Ghana.  So, spread the word! :)

If you see an ad that seems out of place for the theme of the blog, please bear with me. I'm trying to tweak which sites are allowed to display their ads here.  Needless to say, if you see ads selling "Discounts on LDS Garments!", chances are you're not going to find what you're looking for there.  That's because so many advertisers target keywords and just slap them together with their boilerplate ad text on the off chance that you're looking for an item to buy described by that keyword.

We've also added a custom search engine to further enhance the value of the site.  It's the search box on the top right of the page.  With this search engine, you can simultaneously search the multiple LDS Web sites for content.  This helps people who want to do research into the LDS Church and doctrinal topics, but don't want to be exposed to anti-Mormon propaganda, salacious rumors, adult web sites, and incomplete or outright deceptive "research".  Here are the sites (in no particular order of importance) the search currently covers.

• fair-lds.org 
  
• maxwellinstitute.com 
  
• mormon.org 
• lds.org 
  
• ldscatalog.com 
  
• deseretbook.com 
  
• americantestament.blogspot.com
  

If you wish to see others included, please provide a URL in the comments.

A Recounting of Jewish History (2 Nephi 6)

Jacob, the younger brother of Nephi, was given the role of teacher and priest to the people.  In this chapter, he tells the people how concerned he is for their salvation and education in their history and their future.  He turns to Isaiah for this instruction.

The words he quotes are about all the house of Israel (all 12 tribes).  He first emphasizes Isaiah's teaching that the Gentiles would become a support to Israel in the last days.

  7 And ^akings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their faces towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that^bI am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that ^cwait for me.

Next, Jacob reminds them that Israel was under condemnation when they left Jerusalem over 50 years before and tells them that it has been revealed to him by an angel that Jerusalem was conquered as prophesied by Lehi.  The good news is that those who were carried away captive would return in the future.  Jesus Christ would come to them, but unfortunately they would crucify him.  This treatment of their King would result in many more years of affliction and scattering for the Jews.  But, when they turn back to the Lord, they will be gathered again and saved from their enemies.

Jacob then pronounces a blessing on the Gentiles for their repentance and support of Israel, and for not becoming part of the organizations and churches set up to tear down the Church of God.

Christ, unlike with his first advent when he was born as an infant and later scourged, mocked, and crucified, will then come to show Himself in all His glory.  He will destroy all of Israel's enemies by fire, tempest, earthquakes, bloodshed, pestilence, and famine, and preserve all of those who believe on Him.  At that time, everyone will know that Jesus Christ is the Savior, the Redeemer, and the Mighty One of Jacob (father Israel).

Why Are There So Many War Stories in the Book of Mormon?

While preparing a lesson for Church today, I came upon this excellent video of a talk given by John Bytheway (yes, that's his real name...by the way), who was earlier known for his brand of "squeaky clean comedy", but later became a Church Educational System instructor.  The linked talk was given during BYU Education Week, August 18, 2003.

John states that because the principal compiler and abridger of the Book of Mormon was Mormon, who was a military man at the end of the days of the Nephite people, naturally many things he included from the Nephite record were from his perspective as a warrior.  Moroni, who was Mormon's son and the final writer on the plates, saw our day and reinforced what he saw by confirming what his father said about our potential destruction should we choose to follow in the same, wicked path as the Nephites of his day.

In the war-torn world of today, it is entirely and absolutely relevant and fair for the Book of Mormon to focus on one of the most desperate conditions of humanity, including what leads to it and how it can be resolved.  Perhaps the righteous Captain Moroni, who lived centuries before Mormon, was Moroni's namesake because Mormon recognized in Captain Moroni the qualities of a man of God who also knew that God abhored war and only allowed it as a last resort when the life, liberties, and happiness of righteous people was threatened by an external show of force upon the righteously obtained territories of God's people.

I've always felt that world peace would come if people in power would just read the New Testament and the Book of Mormon together and hopefully choose to become sincere and submissive to God.  It is incumbent upon all of us to spread the message of the Book of Mormon as far and as wide as possible so that eventually the world's leaders can't help but be influenced by its teachings.

Online Gospel Art Picture Kit Statistics - LDSMediaTalk.com

I usually try to keep my posts about the Book of Mormon, because that is, after all, the title of this blog.  However, given my recent encounters with individuals who believe that Mormons worship Joseph Smith or that we treat the Book of Mormon with more weight than we do the New Testament, I had to share something telling from LDSMediaTalk.com.

The Gospel Art Picture Kit is a collection of paintings and photographs used by Primary (children's Sunday school) teachers to illustrate concepts of the lessons they teach.  It contains themed illustrations and photos from all the Standard Works (Old/New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants and Pearl of Great Price), plus some Church history and ancient Middle-Eastern items.

You can tell a lot about what a church truly believes by what it teaches its children.  With the many, many images available in the Gospel Art Picture Kit, and with the assumption by many that we "aren't really Christians" or that we teach more about Joseph Smith and the restoration than we do about Christ, one would think that the most popular of the online versions of these pictures would be about Joseph Smith and the restoration.

Instead, we see these numbers.

Most Popular Items in the Gospel Art Picture Kit in 2008
Picture Name	Page Views
208 John the Baptist Baptizing Jesus	23,670
240 Jesus the Christ	22,638
239 The Resurrected Jesus Christ	18,753
201 The Nativity	16,543
227 Jesus Praying in Gethsemane	16,323
403 The First Vision	15,916
216 Christ and the Children	13,502
238 The Second Coming	12,973
608 Christ and Children from around the World	12,192
212 Sermon on the Mount	11,144

Even "The First Vision", which is arguably a restoration theme, is Christ-centered because, of course, it was God the Father and Jesus Christ appearing to Joseph Smith.

So, with the idea gone that Mormons don't teach their children about Christ, it appears that, ultimately, the only theological difference "mainstream" Christians (as they're called today) should have with Mormons is whether we worship the "right" Jesus.  And that is proof of the necessity for a restoration if ever I saw one.

Simile Oaths/Curses in the Book of Mormon

In these videos, I discuss the significance of Simile Oaths/Curses in the Book of Mormon and other ancient Near Eastern documents. 

Enjoy!

Part 1

Part 2

Ancient Texts in Support of the Book of Mormon

In this new series, I discuss an article written by John A. Tvedtnes and published in 2002 that gives an overview of some of the ancient texts in support of the Book of Mormon. 

**Note: I apologize that there is no video for this series. I am having problems with my audio/video syncing on my editing software. I am working hard trying to fix this problem, and hopefully by next time I will have it working.** 

Enjoy!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Linguistic Evidence for the Book of Mormon

Brian Stubbs (PhD in Near Eastern Languages, University of Utah) is a linguist who working on the development of the Uto-Aztecan and other languages. He had this to offer at the 2006 FAIR Conference. He discussed the evidence for a Semitic influence on the Uto-Aztecan language and his findings regarding his research in this field. An excellent supplement to this presentation can be found in Mike Ash's two books Shaken Faith Syndrome[1] and Of Faith and Reason[2].

Enjoy!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

[1]: Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One's Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt (Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, 2008) pages 185-187

[2]: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith (Cedar Fort, Inc. 2008) page 122

New Year Festival in the Book of Mormon

Just in time for 2009, I have a video discussion on an interesting aspect of King Benjamin's speech and the ancient Israelite New Year festival Rosh ha-Shanah.

Enjoy!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Reformed Egyptian Part Deux

In a previous post, I discussed "reformed Egyptian" in the Book of Mormon and explored this intriguing aspect of the Book of Mormon. In this follow up post, I have posted a series of videos exploring reformed Egyptian and explain how, contrary to the critics, this is evidence and not a blunder for Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3