The official channel of BYU's Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, featuring the Maxwell Institute Podcast and a variety of lectures and other Institute events.
I love this so much. There's no-one like Hugh Nibley. How blessed we are to have recordings of him. After watching this again, my faith is lifted up and deeper. Thank you.
Although there may not be better English words than "translated by Joseph Smith" for explaining to the world the origins of the Book of Mormon, the words do not do justice to what happened. Translation is a skill that Joseph Smith did not have. Instead, he looked into stones, a hat, or something else and dictated to his scribes. If I recall past reading correctly, he even dictated to he scribes how to spell the proper names. Translation did not happen with Joseph. Rather, he saw English and spoke. For believing Latter-day Saints, there is a better word: Seer. The Book of Mormon reports in Mosiah 8:16, ". . . Ammon said that a seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God". Indeed. The Book of Mormon makes this clear in other ways. There are many prophets mentioned from time to time, some named, most unnamed, but there are no seers except Mosiah. Joseph Smith was another. He was the instrument of God to bring forth the greatest document in the history of Civilization.
Somewhere early in your podcast series, someone spoke about the sorrow that Nephi probably felt knowing that there would be no happy reunion of family for him as there was in the story of Egypt's Joseph. Sorrow indeed. The Book of Mormon is a magnificent story, heaven sent, doubtless authentic, valuable as literature as well as scripture, about repeated failure that yields vast hope for us. After Nephi and Jacob, the society descends into a dark age of some 400 years, leaving minimal records, mostly telling of persistent skirmishing between clans, providing no sense of significant population growth, only surviving. Then there is a flight and a renaissance starting with Mosiah 1, leading to Benjamin, Mosiah 2, and the first successful outreach to the Lamanites. Then war and collapse again, although this time with population growth and commercial expansion. Then a golden age of 200 years after the appearance of Christ. Then commercial expansion and war again, although collapse only for the part of the community that had allied itself to the memory of the Nephites and remained Christian to some degree. ----------- A contrast with Old World Christianity jumps to mind. The Roman and Greek Orthodox churches, and their protesting branches, despite many wanderings in doctrine and sometimes terrible faults in practice, have succeeded in keeping alive the memory of Christ and in moderating chaos in Europe through 2000 years. No small accomplishment compared with Nephite civilization.
I couldn't get enough of your messages in your book!! Absolutely LOVED every truth you wrote! I related to so many of the stories, they were my stories in a lot of ways. Thank you for following your heart and sharing your heart in writing this awesome book! It has blessed me.
At 36mins & 52secs. The 3 men can probably be the 3 Frogmen in the Book of Revelation connected to Beast (I believe are good guys, but John Brisson doesn't 😂), Bible KJV, or similar to the 3 Nephites in the Book of Mormon.
The final form of the Book of Mormon came by an irregular path, Mormon finding the small plates just after he had finished abridging the matching portion of the large plates, Joseph losing Mormon's work, and Joseph translating the small plates last (as I understand from what you say about 9 minutes into the podcast). The result has remarkable large scale structure. Two examples: First, it opens and closes with one man addressing the reader. Second, its narrative advances with balanced dominant voices: first person from I Nephi to Omni, third person from Words of Mormon to IV Nephi, and first person again from Mormon to Moroni. The text unfolds so effortlessly that thousands have read it hardly noticing the complex structure across its parts.
Is the Maxwell Institute website still running? I can't seem to access it on any browser. It just says "This site can't be reached." I would love to visit the website.
This talk is incredible and needs to be applied to our lives! It's not about the love I haven't received in the past but the love I'm not giving in the present. So true!
Good Morning! Really enjoyed this podcast! Thank you both! Kimberley made reference to an article by Dr. Joseph Spencer and I wondered if you could include a link to that! I love studying anything Dr. Spencer writes! Kindest regards, Aym
What an impressive piece of art and an impressive student! I appreciate his honesty and example of trying something even if he didn't feel like he was the most qualified
How do you think Limhi was able to quote the Old Testament prophets so well? The Brass Plates were still in Zarhemla so he and his father and grandfather didn't have access to them. Yet Limhi has a very deep connection to the Exodus narrative, more so than Jacob or the later Nephi chapters. In Mosiah 7:29, Limhi says, "For behold, the Lord hath said" and then says something that is very similar to Jeremiah 6:21 as is referenced in footnote 29b. He also quotes prophecies of the Lord in verses 30 and 31 of the same chapter. How do you think Limhi is able to refer to these prophecies?
This was superb. Thank you for reposting. I'm sorry I missed it the first time, but now I am looking forward now to reading more of Dr. Inouye's writing. What a beautiful and insightful soul. My condolences to her family, colleagues, and loved ones.
It grieves me to hear of Melissa Inouye’s passing. I did not know her, but I have read her book, “Crossings” and I graduated from the University of Utah School of Medicine in 1977 with a close relative of hers, Dwight Inouye. The Inouye’s are a brilliant family, and I am privileged to know one of them personally, to know about their time in Sigurd, my mother’s birthplace, and to know of Melissa’s courageous struggle with her disease.
This man is awesome i wish I could have met him i would love to talk to him about the Book of Mormon there’s nobody on earth who can change my mind about the fact that the Book of Mormon is the blueprint for keeping the USA blessed, and I’m sorry for being the bearer of bad news but this country is on its way down the final prophecies are playing out in real time as i text this comment
Hugh Nibley is a true Unicorn... prayers from the horns of Unicorns (which are anything but long horned bulls!😂) "Open your mind" and see things as they really are Hugh says... many mysteries unfolded in what hes saying... thank you for posting!
Looking forward to this book. Joseph Spencer has opened my eyes to great insights into Mormon's structure in his writing as well as Nephi's life and experience in his first two books of the BoM. He has a way of drawing out powerful insights from stories and text we have likely read many times but have overlooked or not taken the time to examine from a different point of view.
