The Book of Mormon is a complex literary work with a close relationship to the Bible. Grant Hardy’s work in creating the Annotated Book of Mormon is designed to communicate that complexity and provide insights into the Book of Mormon that appeal to both believers and non-believing scholars. This interview with the author is about his new annotated edition published by Oxford University Press.
The Book of Mormon is a foundational text for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The earliest related research produced reference works, and there have been decades of investigation into its historicity, leading to today’s “golden age” of scholarship. In this interview, Joe Spencer and Nick Frederick discuss the future of Book of Mormon studies, such as emerging emphases on reception history and theology.
Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by the “gift and power of God.” However, it’s unclear precisely what that means. In this interview, Michael Hubbard MacKay breaks down what we know from the historical record, including Joseph’s work with seer stones, his insistence on using the term translation, and the peculiar purposes of the gold plates during the translation process.
Brandon Sanderson is one of today’s most popular fiction writers. Books like Mistborn and Way of Kings have captured the hearts of millions—and some of Sanderson’s fans have asked if his Latter-day Saint faith influences their favorite storylines. In this interview, BYU’s Nick Frederick ponders a fun hypothetical: What if Nephites from the Book of Mormon had found an inspiring record like The Way of Kings?
Sharon J. Harris is an assistant professor of English at Brigham Young University. She is also the author of a volume in the Maxwell Institute’s Brief Theological Introductions series about Enos, Jarom, and Omni.
Scholar Terryl Givens is the author of 2nd Nephi: A Brief Theological Introduction. He has also published a landmark biography of Eugene England and written about the theology of grace and works.
Spencer Fluhman and Philip Barlow are co-editors of the groundbreaking Maxwell Institute series, Brief Theological Introductions to the Book of Mormon.
Tad Callister is former General Sunday School president for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and author of several books about Latter-day Saint theology. In this interview, he talks about evidence for the Book of Mormon and what he’s learned since publishing The Infinite Atonement.
Reading scriptures like the Book of Mormon can be an incredible experience, but sometimes small things like reading a certain number of verses per day or repeatedly seeing the same layout get in the way. A new book from the Neal A. Maxwell Institute of Religious Studies at BYU hopes to eliminate any obstacles posed by the layout of the text.
Grant Hardy is the editor of the Maxwell Institute Study Edition of the Book of Mormon. In this interview, he explains how the book came to be and why it includes an Emma Smith testimony not found in regular editions of the Book of Mormon.