Podcast
Informed Saints
Hosted by Informed Saints · EN
The podcast where you can learn about everything from polygamy to gold plates. Hosted by Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, and Jasmin Rappleye.
14episodes
Episodes
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What Most Readers Miss About the Sword of Laban
5d ago00:44:27Tap to summarizeCritics once called the Book of Mormon's weapons a fatal flaw — steel swords in 600 BC? Scimitars a thousand years before Muhammad? Bows and arrows in ancient America? Then archaeology started coming into play. In this episode, Jasmin Rappleye, Neal Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot dig into Matthew Roper's Anachronisms: Accidental Evidence for the Book of Mormon, published through the Interpreter Foundation — an exhaustive documentation of weapons critics once claimed couldn't have existed. ===Informed Saints Credits=== Produced by The Ancient America Foundation Producer: Spencer Clark Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye In this episode: Roper's scorecard: 12 of 15 allegedly anachronistic weapons now confirmed, 2 partially confirmed The sword of Laban (1 Nephi 4) and the critics — Clark Braden (1884), a 1964 Notre Dame Press book, Walter Martin's Kingdom of the Cults (1997) — who insisted steel didn't exist in Nephi's day The meter-long steel sword discovered by Avraham Eitan at a fortress near Jericho, dated to the late 7th century BC King Tut's meteoric-iron, gold-hilted dagger and other gold-hilted weapons of the ancient Near East Why "steel" in the Book of Ether may reflect layers of translation — and why the King James Bible renders Hebrew bronze as "steel" The macuahuitl: the obsidian-edged Mesoamerican sword conquistadors said cut better than Spanish steel (Ross Hassig, Michael Coe) — going back to Olmec San Lorenzo Scimitars from Enos to the Egyptian khopesh, the Hebrew kidon, Goliath's weapons in 1 Samuel 17, and curved blades on the Lachish reliefs Curved blades in the New World: Tonina, Teotihuacan, and San Lorenzo Nephi's steel bow, the "bow of steel" of 2 Samuel 22:35 / Psalm 18, and composite bows with metal fittings Bows, arrows, and atlatls in ancient Mesoamerica — and what a 2005 Copán study changed Further Readings: Read the primary source: Matthew Roper, Anachronisms: Accidental Evidence for the Book of Mormon https://scripturecentral.org/evidence/book-of-mormon-evidence-bow-and-arrow https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ancient-mesoamerica/article/classic-maya-warfare-and-weapons-spear-dart-and-arrow-points-of-aguateca-and-copan/8E310349816CEA249F7A7A6095A90B4C https://scripturecentral.org/archive/books/book-chapter/bow-and-arrow-book-mormon https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/arts-and-entertainment/atlatl https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278416522000794 https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1205&context=jbms https://scripturecentral.org/evidence/book-of-mormon-evidence-cimeters https://scripturecentral.org/knowhy/why-does-the-book-of-mormon-mention-cimeters https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms/vol5/iss1/7/ https://scripturecentral.org/knowhy/what-kinds-of-swords-did-book-of-mormon-peoples-use https://interpreterfoundation.org/journal/lehi-the-smelter-new-light-on-lehis-profession https://interpreterfoundation.org/blog-the-hilt-thereof-was-of-pure-gold https://interpreterfoundation.org/journal/anachronisms-accidental-evidence-in-book-of-mormon-criticisms-chapter-2-warfare-in-the-book-of-mormon https://interpreterfoundation.org/journal/anachronisms-accidental-evidence-in-book-of-mormon-criticisms-introduction Subscribe for more faithful scholarship every week. Study deeply, believe boldly. ===Discover=== If any of our thoughts resonated with you, consider learning more about the single most influential book in our lives. https://www.discoverbookofmormon.org/ ===Content Disclaimer=== The views expressed represent ours alone and do not necessarily reflect the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. #BookOfMormon #LDS #ComeFollowMe #InformedSaints #BookOfMormonEvidence #Anachronisms #SwordOfLaban #Macuahuitl #Nephi #AncientAmerica #Mesoamerica #BiblicalArchaeology #Archaeology #LatterDaySaints #Scimitar #AztecWarfare #MatthewRoper #Jericho #ScriptureStudy #FaithAndScholarship
Transcribe →The Data About Latter-day Saint Women the Media Won't Tell You
1w ago00:51:33Tap to summarizePeople online will tell you Latter-day Saints are leaving the Church in droves — especially women. But when social scientists actually run the numbers, a very different story emerges. In this episode,the Informed Saints crew sit down with Dr. Jenet Erickson — professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University, Wheatley Institute fellow, and Deseret News columnist — alongside co-hosts Neal Rappleye and Stephen Smoot to unpack the new BYU Studies report, Latter-day Saint Trends in the United States: Religiousness, Well-Being, and Retention (co-authored by Justin Dyer, a previous guest on the show). Together we explore: Why Latter-day Saints lead the nation in active retention — and what that phrase means The real story of the gender gap: millennial women, faith, and what actually changed Claudia Goldin's Nobel Prize–winning "quiet revolution" in women's education and work Politics as a key predictor of disaffiliation Christian Smith and the 1991 turning point: materialism, the divorce revolution, and institutional distrust Pew data on Latter-day Saint women reporting deep peace and high happiness Wheatley findings across 13 countries: religiously active women 4–5× more likely to report strong marriages, meaning, and happiness W. Bradford Wilcox (University of Virginia) on highly religious men as husbands and fathers Tyler VanderWeele and Harvard's Human Flourishing research on religion and mental health — and the "religion is a crutch" objection The toxic perfectionism surprise: who actually struggles most What mothers and fathers each contribute to a child's development — including Erickson's BYU Studies paper It Takes Two The single strongest predictor of whether a child keeps their faith The new Gospel Topics essay on women, the Family Proclamation's "individual adaptation" clause, and today's work-family arrangements President Oaks' counsel on not outsourcing family life ===Informed Saints Credits=== Produced by The Ancient America Foundation Producer: Spencer Clark Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye Further Readings: https://ifstudies.org/about-us/jenet-erickson https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/it-takes-two https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-25-no-3-2024/addressing-crisis-meaning-identity-through-covenant-relationship https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/jenet-erickson/designed-for-covenant-relationships/ https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/parental-influence-on-adolescent-perfectionism https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/family?lang=eng https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/womens-service-and-leadership-in-the-church?lang=eng https://foundations.byu.edu/0000019b-1343-d613-a59b-17df82980000/latterdaysaintreligiosity-pdf https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/religious-landscape-study-executive-summary/ https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/decline-of-christianity-in-the-us-has-slowed-may-have-leveled-off/ Justin Dyer EP: https://youtu.be/7IMZGScnEok ===Discover=== If any of our thoughts resonated with you, consider learning more about the single most influential book in our lives. https://www.discoverbookofmormon.org/ ===Content Disclaimer=== The views expressed represent ours alone and do not necessarily reflect the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. #LDS #LatterDaySaints #InformedSaints #BYUStudies #JenetErickson #FaithAndFamily #LDSWomen #WomenOfFaith #Retention #FaithCrisis #ReligionAndMentalHealth #Motherhood #Fatherhood #FamilyProclamation #ComeFollowMe #SocialScience #WheatleyInstitute #Perfectionism #ChristianFaith #TheChurchOfJesusChrist
Transcribe →Was Joseph Smith's Presidential Run a Power Grab? The Real Story
3w ago00:39:26Tap to summarizeJoseph Smith was the first U.S. presidential candidate ever assassinated while campaigning — but almost no one knows why the Prophet decided to run in the first place. After Missouri's extermination order, a president who shrugged, and five candidates who refused to lift a finger, running for president became the last option left to secure the rights of the Latter-day Saints — and every other persecuted minority in America. In this episode, hosts Jasmin Rappleye, Neal Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot work through Spencer McBride's Joseph Smith for President: The Prophet, the Assassins, and the Fight for American Religious Freedom to unpack the 1844 campaign — what drove it, what it actually proposed, and how it ended in Carthage. ===Informed Saints Credits=== Produced by The Ancient America Foundation Producer: Spencer Clark Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye In this episode: The 1838 Mormon War in Missouri, Governor Boggs' extermination order, and the ~800 redress petitions taken to Washington The meeting with Martin Van Buren ("Little Van") and his infamous "your cause is just, but I can do nothing" reply Joseph's letters to the five 1844 candidates — Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, Martin Van Buren, Lewis Cass, and Richard M. Johnson The "states' rights doctrine… a dead carcass, a stink offering" quote — and why you can't map Joseph's politics onto modern parties The campaign pamphlet "General Smith's Views of the Powers and Policy of the Government" (printed by John Taylor, ghostwritten by W. W. Phelps) The platform: federal protection of civil and religious rights, a smaller and pay-cut Congress, abolishing slavery by 1850, prison reform, a national bank, and westward expansion with Native consent Abraham O. Smoot, the electioneering missionaries, and the courthouse mob in Dresden, Tennessee The Council of Fifty, the westward look toward Deseret, and how local Hancock County politics fed the road to Carthage Read the book: Spencer McBride, Joseph Smith for President (Oxford University Press) — https://amzn.to/4vuQg3p Subscribe for more faithful scholarship every week. Study deeply, believe boldly. Further Readings and Sources: https://rsc.byu.edu/book/mormon-redress-petitions https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-draft-1-january-31-december-1840/3 www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/minutes-and-discourse-29-january-1844/1 www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/discourse-8-february-1844/1 https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/general-smiths-views-of-the-powers-and-policy-of-the-government-of-the-united-states-circa-26-january-7-february-1844/1? https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/articles/religious-freedom? https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/discourse-8-february-1844/1? www.josephsmithpapers.org/articles/joseph-smiths-letter-to-1844-presidential-candidates www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/minutes-29-november-1843/2 ===Discover=== If any of our thoughts resonated with you, consider learning more about the single most influential book in our lives. https://www.discoverbookofmormon.org/ ===Content Disclaimer=== The views expressed represent ours alone and do not necessarily reflect the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. #JosephSmith #BookOfMormon #LDS #ComeFollowMe #LatterDaySaints #ChurchHistory #Nauvoo #JosephSmithForPresident #SpencerMcBride #ReligiousFreedom #MormonHistory #1844Election #HenryClay #CouncilOfFifty #Abolition #StatesRights #AmericanHistory #InformedSaints #Restoration #Deseret
Transcribe →Joseph Smith was NOT a criminal killed in a gunfight
4w ago00:40:41Tap to summarizeWhat if the weapon that killed Joseph and Hyrum Smith at Carthage Jail wasn't really a gun — but the legal system itself? Most Latter-day Saints have only a vague sense of why Joseph was even in that jail on June 27, 1844. The real story goes back years, and it looks a lot like a conspiracy. Jasmin Rappleye, Neal Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot trace "the road to Carthage" — drawing on Carthage Conspiracy by Dallin H. Oaks and Marvin S. Hill (University of Illinois Press) and Joseph I. Bentley's "Road to Martyrdom: Joseph Smith's Last Legal Cases," along with related work in Sustaining the Law — to show how Joseph's enemies weaponized the courts to pull him out of Nauvoo and keep him in Carthage long enough to kill him. ===Informed Saints Credits=== Produced by The Ancient America Foundation Producer: Spencer Clark Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye In this episode: The three Missouri extradition attempts (1841, 1842, 1843) and the Mormon War of 1838 behind them How Joseph used habeas corpus — from Magna Carta to the Nauvoo municipal court — to thwart extradition The six dissidents (William & Wilson Law, Robert & Charles Foster, Francis & Chauncey Higbee) and their break with Joseph over plural marriage "Lawfare" in action — adultery charges, riot charges, and the goal that was never conviction Thomas Sharp, the Warsaw Signal, and the open calls for extermination The Nauvoo Expositor and the "three polys": polygamy, polytheism, and politics Three Expositor myths debunked — suppressing the truth, the First Amendment, and the "neutral truth-teller" pose (the 14th Amendment, 1868, and Near v. Minnesota, 1931) Suppressing the paper vs. destroying the press — where the legal overreach actually was The exorbitant bail, Governor Ford's empty guarantees, and the last-minute treason charge — and why treason, a non-bailable capital offense, was the whole point Subscribe for more faithful scholarship every week. Study deeply, believe boldly. Primary source Dallin H. Oaks and Marvin S. Hill, Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith (University of Illinois Press) Joseph I. Bentley, "Road to Martyrdom: Joseph Smith's Last Legal Cases" Scholarly sources mentioned in the episode Dallin H. Oaks, "Suppressing the Nauvoo Expositor" (in Sustaining the Law) Sustaining the Law: Joseph Smith's Legal Encounters (Jane H. Wise / Gordon A. Madsen, eds.) — collected legal-history essays referenced throughout Craig L. Foster, article in Interpreter on 19th-century precedents for suppressing newspapers Brian C. Hales, on plural marriage and "polygamy insiders" (referenced terminology) Related background reading Near v. Minnesota (1931) — landmark First Amendment / prior-restraint case discussed in the episode Richard E. Turley Jr., Ronald W. Walker, and Glen M. Leonard, Massacre at Mountain Meadows (Oxford University Press) — for the later-trauma context the hosts flag ===Discover=== If any of our thoughts resonated with you, consider learning more about the single most influential book in our lives. https://www.discoverbookofmormon.org/ ===Content Disclaimer=== The views expressed represent ours alone and do not necessarily reflect the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. #JosephSmith #Carthage #BookOfMormon #LDS #ComeFollowMe #ChurchHistory #Nauvoo #LatterDaySaints #DallinHOaks #NauvooExpositor #MormonHistory #HyrumSmith #ThomasFord #FirstAmendment #HabeasCorpus #Martyrdom #InformedSaints #FaithfulScholarship #DoctrineAndCovenants #LDSHistory
Transcribe →Did Joseph Smith Fall for the Kinderhook Plates?
Jun 1400:35:40Tap to summarizeDid Joseph Smith try to translate a known hoax? In 1843, forged brass plates dug from a burial mound near Kinderhook, Illinois were rushed to Nauvoo, and critics have used the story ever since as proof that Joseph Smith was a fraud. But the documented history tells a very different story — one most members (and most critics) have never heard. In this episode, Jasmin Rappleye, Neal Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot break down what really happened when the Kinderhook Plates came to town: who forged them and why, how the "discovery" was staged, and what Joseph Smith actually did when he examined them. Drawing on research by Mark Ashurst-McGee and Don Bradley, they show how the famous William Clayton journal entry ("President Joseph has translated a portion...") traces back to a single character compared against the Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar — a scholarly exercise using the study tools available to him, not a revelation. No seer stone. No Urim and Thummim. No Book of Kinderhook. The trap never sprang shut, and what Joseph Smith didn't do may be the most compelling evidence of his sincerity as a prophet and translator. In this episode: - What were the Kinderhook Plates, and who made them? - The forgers' real motive (it wasn't what you think) - Why the Saints — and the national press — took the plates seriously - What Joseph Smith asked for when he first saw them - The single character behind William Clayton's "translation" entry - Does any of this implicate the Book of Abraham? (No — here's why) - Why no revelation ever came, and what Mosiah 8 says about translating records "of ancient date" - How the Church itself helped expose the hoax in 1981 - Kinderhook's staged witnesses vs. the Book of Mormon witnesses ===Informed Saints Credits=== Produced by The Ancient America Foundation Producer: Spencer Clark Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye Further reading: - Mark Ashurst-McGee and Don Bradley, "President Joseph Has Translated a Portion: Solving the Mystery of the Kinderhook Plates," in Producing Ancient Scripture (University of Utah Press, 2020) - Don Bradley and Mark Ashurst-McGee, "Joseph Smith and the Kinderhook Plates," in A Reason for Faith: Navigating LDS Doctrine and Church History (BYU Religious Studies Center, 2016) - Stanley B. Kimball, "Kinderhook Plates Brought to Joseph Smith Appear to Be a Nineteenth-Century Hoax," Ensign, August 1981 - Richard Lyman Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling (2005) https://rsc.byu.edu/reason-faith/kinderhook-plates https://scripturecentral.org/knowhy/what-do-the-kinderhook-plates-reveal-about-joseph-smiths-gift-of-translation https://mormonr.org/qnas/a9l1T/the_kinderhook_plates https://archive.org/details/EnsignAugust1981/page/n67/mode/2up https://bhroberts.org/records/0yAxfr-08AjsB/wilburn_fugates_confession_letter https://bhroberts.org/records/0yAxfr-0ECbgq/quincy_whig_report_on_kinderhook_plates_discovery https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/NCMP1820-1846/id/8508 https://bhroberts.org/records/0yAxfr-0QZHpx/john_taylor_and_wilford_woodruff_broadside_with_facsimile_of_kinderhook_plates https://bhroberts.org/records/0yAxfr-0xL2FO/parley_p_pratt_describes_kinderhook_plates_to_john_van_cott_and_says_they_contained_genealogy_of_the_jaredites_back_to_ham https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/journal-december-1842-june-1844-book-2-10-march-1843-14-july-1843/203 https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/egyptian-alphabet-circa-early-july-circa-november-1835-a/1 https://bhroberts.org/records/0yAxfr-lgCrLb/william_clayton_records_josephs_history_account_of_plates_in_first_person https://bhroberts.org/records/0yAxfr-03lrqP/william_clayton_journal_entry_describing_joseph_translating_kinderhook_plates https://bhroberts.org/records/0yAxfr-QiqJGb/in_wwps_hand_gael_gives_definition_of_boat_hieroglyph https://bhroberts.org/records/0yAxfr-0KdaJS/confession_letter_of_wilburn_w_fugate_says_joseph_would_not_translate_the_plates_until_authenticated https://archive.org/details/EnsignAugust1981/page/n67/mode/2up Subscribe for more episodes where we take the hardest questions about Latter-day Saint history and scripture seriously — because you can study deeply and believe boldly. ===Discover=== If any of our thoughts resonated with you, consider learning more about the single most influential book in our lives. https://www.discoverbookofmormon.org/ ===Content Disclaimer=== The views expressed represent ours alone and do not necessarily reflect the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. #KinderhookPlates #JosephSmith #BookOfMormon #LatterDaySaints #LDS #ChurchHistory #BookOfAbraham #MormonHistory #informedsaints
Transcribe →Joseph Smith's 1843 Vision Most Latter-day Saints Have Never Heard
Jun 700:28:57Tap to summarizeIn April 1843, Joseph Smith stood on the Nauvoo temple grounds and described a vision he had received: he had seen the resurrected dead take each other by the hand and embrace one another, reuniting families across the veil. Most Latter-day Saints know that handclasps carry sacred significance in temple worship — but very few know that this exact motif runs through the entire ancient world, from the Hebrew Bible to early Christianity to Byzantine art to Egyptian temple ritual. In this episode, Jasmin Rappleye, Neal Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot sit down with Spencer Kraus to discuss his paper "God Hath Shown Unto Me a Vision: The Sacred Handclasp and the Resurrection of the Dead," published in Temple Insights: Scholarship, Craftsmanship, and Fellowship (The Interpreter Foundation / Temple on Mount Zion Symposium). ===Informed Saints Credits=== Produced by The Ancient America Foundation Producer: Spencer Clark Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye Spencer Kraus, “‘God Hath Shown unto Me a Vision’: The Sacred Handclasp and the Resurrection of the Dead,” in The Temple: Seership, Craftsmanship, and Fellowship., ed. Jeffrey M. Bradshaw and Stephen D. Ricks (Orem, UT: Interpreter Foundation; Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2025), 369–393. David M. Calabro, “The Divine Handclasp in the Hebrew Bible and in Near Eastern Iconography,” in Temple Insights: Proceedings of the Interpreter Matthew B. Brown Memorial Conference, ed. William J. Hamblin and David Rolph Seely (Orem, UT: Interpreter Foundation; Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2014), 88–92; https://interpreterfoundation.org/journal/the-divine-handclasp-in-the-hebrew-bible-and-in-near-eastern-iconography. Matthew B. Brown, “The Handclasp, the Temple, and the King,” in Hamblin and Seely, Temple Insights, 5–10; https://interpreterfoundation.org/journal/the-handclasp-the-temple-and-the-king. Stephen D. Ricks, “Dexiosis and Dextrarum Iunctio: The Sacred Handclasp in the Classical and Early Christian World,” FARMS Review 18, no. 1 (2006): 431–436; https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1673&context=msr. Brent J. Schmidt, Relational Faith: The Transformation and Restoration of Pistis as Knowledge, Trust, Confidence, and Covenantal Faithfulness (Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2022), 87–118. David M. Calabro, “The Reach, the Handclasp, and the Embrace: Gestures of the Gods in the Ancient Egyptian Abydos Formula,” in Seek Ye Words of Wisdom: Studies of the Book of Mormon, Bible, and Temple in Honor of Stephen D. Ricks, ed. Donald W. Parry, Gaye Strathearn, and Shon D. Hopkin (Orem, UT: Interpreter Foundation; Salt Lake City: Eborn Books, 2020), 291–310; https://interpreterfoundation.org/reprint-the-reach-the-handclasp-and-the-embrace. Subscribe to Informed Saints for scholarly-grounded discussions of Latter-day Saint scripture, history, and temple worship. Study deeply, believe boldly. ===Discover=== If any of our thoughts resonated with you, consider learning more about the single most influential book in our lives. https://www.discoverbookofmormon.org/ ===Content Disclaimer=== The views expressed represent ours alone and do not necessarily reflect the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. #BookOfMormon #LDS #JosephSmith #Temple #SacredHandclasp #InformedSaints #LatterDaySaints #Resurrection #Anastasis #DandC129 #ComeFollowMe #LDSScholarship #ChristianHistory #EarlyChristianity #BibleStudy #Mormon #ScriptureStudy #LDSChurch #TempleWorship #SpencerKraus
Transcribe →Mesoamerica vs. The Heartland: The Book of Mormon Geography Debate
May 2401:14:28Tap to summarizeWhere did the Book of Mormon actually take place? It's one of the most divisive internal debates among Latter-day Saints — and one of the most misunderstood. In this episode, Jasmin Rappleye, Neal Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot sit down with Brant Gardner — author of the six-volume Second Witness commentary on the Book of Mormon and one of the most widely published Book of Mormon scholars working today — to lay out the methodological, archaeological, anthropological, and textual case for Mesoamerica, and why the Heartland model doesn't hold up under scrutiny. Read Brant Gardner's "Heartland vs. Mesoamerica" article series at The Interpreter Foundation, and check out his brand new book The Record and Explorations in Book of Mormon Authenticity, published by FAIR. Use discount code INFORMED15 for 15% off at the FAIR bookstore. https://fairlatterdaysaints.org/store/product/the-record-and-the-reading-explorations-in-book-of-mormon-authenticity/ ===Informed Saints Credits=== Produced by The Ancient America Foundation Producer: Spencer Clark Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye Episode Resources: www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/book-of-mormon-geography https://bhroberts.org/records/HcTowb-KL5WGb/observer_and_telegraph_reporter_mentions_the_three_witnesses_and_reports_on_lds_missionary_activity_in_ohio https://news.artnet.com/art-world/guatemala-mirador-calakmul-karst-basin-lidar-maya-settlements-2235254 https://www.newsweek.com/hidden-ancient-mayan-megalopolis-60000-structures-discovered-guatemala-using-797865 arstechnica.com/science/2021/10/lidar-reveals-hundreds-of-long-lost-maya-and-olmec-ceremonial-centers/ www.sci.news/archaeology/lidar-olmec-maya-ceremonial-complexes-mexico-10206.html www.cnn.com/2023/02/16/world/maya-civilization-causeways-lidar-discovery-scn scripturecentral.org/knowhy/why-did-nephis-people-want-him-to-be-a-king https://interpreterfoundation.org/journal/unavailable-genetic-evidence-multiple-simultaneous-promised-lands-and-lamanites-by-location-possible-ramifications-of-the-book-of-mormon-limited-geography-theory scripturecentral.org/knowhy/what-was-the-nature-of-nephite-fortifications https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/archaeological-trends-and-the-book-of-mormon-origins?post_type=article&p=8754 scripturecentral.org/archive/periodicals/journal-article/archaeological-trends-and-book-mormon-origins bookofmormonresources.blogspot.com/2011/09/water-fight-on-river.html scripturecentral.org/archive/periodicals/journal-article/hypothesis-concerning-three-days-darkness-among-nephites scripturecentral.org/archive/periodicals/journal-article/in-thethirtyandfourthyearageologistsviewofthegreatdestructionin3nephi bmslr.org/geology-of-the-book-of-mormon/ scripturecentral.org/archive/books/book-chapter/another-noteonthethreedaysofdarkness www.sci.news/othersciences/linguistics/science-tempest-stela-ahmose-worlds-oldest-weather-report-01826.html scripturecentral.org/archive/books/book-chapter/another-noteonthethreedaysofdarkness en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Martin_Tuxtla bmslr.org/geology-of-the-book-of-mormon/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Lunas_Decalogue_Stone en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_relics scripturecentral.org/archive/periodicals/journal-article/mormonisms-encounter-michigan-relics scripturecentral.org/archive/periodicals/journal-article/mormonisms-encounter-michigan-relics byustudies.byu.edu/article/tools-leave-marks-material-analysis-of-the-scotford-soper-savage-michigan-relics bmslr.org/ziff-magic-goggles-and-golden-plates/ interpreterfoundation.org/journal/a-combinatorial-approach-to-modeling-all-possible-golden-plates bhroberts.org/platemath/ www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/book-of-mormon-1830/56 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teotihuacan commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tikal_Stela_31.jpg interpreterfoundation.org/blog-the-heartland-versus-mesoamerica-part-1 Subscribe to Informed Saints for scholarly-grounded discussions of Latter-day Saint scripture, history, and archaeology. Study deeply, believe boldly. ===Discover=== If any of our thoughts resonated with you, consider learning more about the single most influential book in our lives. https://www.discoverbookofmormon.org/ ===Content Disclaimer=== The views expressed represent ours alone and do not necessarily reflect the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. #BookOfMormon #LDS #ComeFollowMe #BookOfMormonGeography #Mesoamerica #Heartland #HeartlandVsMesoamerica #BrantGardner #InformedSaints #LatterDaySaints #HillCumorah #JosephSmith #BookOfMormonEvidence #LDSScholarship #Mormon #ScriptureStudy #LDSChurch #AncientAmerica #Teotihuacan #Maya #FAIRMormon
Transcribe →Abinadi Was Right | Stunning Evidence From Two Ancient Worlds
May 1700:23:15Tap to summarizeWhat is the "east wind" in the Book of Mormon? Why would it have struck terror into King Noah's people? On the surface, Abinadi's warning that the people would "reap the east wind which bringeth immediate destruction" (Mosiah 7:31) sounds almost forgettable. But this detail turns out to be one of the most quietly powerful pieces of evidence for the Book of Mormon's ancient origins. In this episode, Jasmin, Neal, and Stephen unpack a fascinating paper by BYU professor Kerry Hull titled "An East Wind: Old and New World Perspectives," published in the volume Abinadi: He Came Among Them in Disguise (Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University). The east wind in the Hebrew Bible is consistently used as an instrument of divine judgment — drying out crops, bringing locusts, parting seas, and famously blighting the wheat in Pharaoh's dream. It's a wind of destruction, even when biblical authors apply it to regions where the geographical direction wouldn't literally make sense. But the real surprise comes when you cross over to the New World. Among the Yucatec, Zeltal, and Zotzil Maya, "evil winds" were believed to be punishments sent by the gods, with the east wind singled out as especially destructive — the Zotzil and Zeltal literally calling it "fiery wind." John Sorensen documented a Zeltal prayer that almost mirrors Abinadi's prophecy: "let no hail come, let no wind come, let no locusts come." That's the exact constellation of calamities listed in Mosiah 12:6. The geography deepens the case. In highland Guatemala; where most Mesoamerican Book of Mormon models place the city of Lehi-Nephi — a hot northeast wind clashing with humid Pacific air actually produces hailstorms, and locusts naturally migrate down from the nearby Motagua River Valley. Jerry Grover has also connected Abinadi's prophecy to Mayan New Year rites, where year bearers were tied to specific cardinal directions and warnings of famine, locusts, war, and the violent death of a ruler were part of the ritual prophetic tradition. ===Informed Saints Credits=== Produced by The Ancient America Foundation Producer: Spencer Clark Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye Subscribe for more deep-dive Book of Mormon scholarship Read the full volume: Abinadi: He Came Among Them in Disguise at the BYU Religious Studies Center Sources discussed: Kerry Hull, "An East Wind: Old and New World Perspectives" John Sorensen, An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon and Mormon's Codex Jerry Grover, Evidence of the Nehor Religion in Mesoamerica John W. Welch, scholarship on Pentecost and Abinadi's trial Further Readings Links: https://rsc.byu.edu/abinadi/east-wind https://scripturecentral.org/knowhy/why-did-abinadi-warn-the-people-of-an-east-wind https://scripturecentral.org/archive/books/book-chapter/abinadi-andpentecost https://scripturecentral.org/archive/media/chart/did-abinadi-prophesy-against-king-noah-pentecost https://interpreterfoundation.org/journal/nephite-daykeepers-ritual-specialists-in-mesoamerica-and-the-book-of-mormon Study deeply. Believe boldly. ===Discover=== If any of our thoughts resonated with you, consider learning more about the single most influential book in our lives. https://www.discoverbookofmormon.org/ ===Content Disclaimer=== The views expressed represent ours alone and do not necessarily reflect the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. #BookOfMormon #LDS #BrazenSerpent #ComeFollowMe #Numbers21 #BibleStudy #LatterDaySaints #InformedSaints #AncientNearEast #Seraphim #Nehushtan #Isaiah #Nephi #JesusChrist #ScriptureStudy #Mormon #BibleArchaeology #HebrewBible #OldTestament #LDSChurch
Transcribe →The Brazen Serpent: The Weirdest Symbol in the Bible — EXPLAINED
May 1000:35:46Tap to summarizeWhy on earth would looking at a bronze snake on a pole heal someone bitten by a serpent? It's one of the strangest stories in the Old Testament and most readers move past it without a second thought. But ancient Near Eastern artifacts, Israelite seals, and details preserved in the Book of Mormon reveal that the Brazen Serpent (the Nehushtan of Numbers 21) was anything but arbitrary. It was the perfect symbol and Nephi knew exactly why. ===Informed Saints Credits=== Produced by The Ancient America Foundation Producer: Spencer Clark Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye In this episode, the Informed Saints crew break down Neal’s paper which covers: • The Hebrew behind "fiery serpents" (ha-nəḥāšîm ha-śərāphîm) and what seraph actually means • Bronze serpent wands from Egypt and figurines from Megiddo, Hazor, Shechem, Timnah, and Gezer — all associated with healing • The 13th–11th century BC tent shrine at Timna with a bronze serpent inside • The seraphim of Isaiah 6 as winged serpentine guardians of Yahweh's throne • Isaiah 14:29's "fiery flying serpent" as an ancient Jewish Messianic prophecy • Why Nephi adds "flying" to the serpents in 1 Nephi 17:41 • How the Hebrew word nēs (pole / ensign / battle standard) ties Numbers 21 to Isaiah's prophecies • Why this whole web of imagery points unmistakably to Jesus Christ Read Neal's full paper: https://interpreterfoundation.org/journal/serpents-of-fire-and-brass-a-contextual-study-of-the-brazen-serpent-tradition-in-the-book-of-mormon Scripture references Numbers 21:4–9 2 Kings 18:4 (the Nehushtan) Isaiah 6, 14:28–29, 11:12, 13:2 1 Nephi 17:41 2 Nephi 25:20 Alma 33:19–22 Helaman 8:13–15 Scholarly sources mentioned in the episode James H. Charlesworth, The Good and Evil Serpent: How a Universal Symbol Became Christianized Karen Randolph Joines, Serpent Symbolism in the Old Testament Anchor Bible Dictionary, entry on "Nehushtan" Austin Henry Layard, Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon Related background reading Michael S. Heiser, The Unseen Realm (on the divine council) Margaret Barker, The Older Testament (on First Temple theology and the Messiah) Subscribe to Informed Saints for scholarly-grounded discussions of Latter-day Saint scripture, history, and archaeology. Study deeply, believe boldly. ===Discover=== If any of our thoughts resonated with you, consider learning more about the single most influential book in our lives. https://www.discoverbookofmormon.org/ ===Content Disclaimer=== The views expressed represent ours alone and do not necessarily reflect the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. #BookOfMormon #LDS #BrazenSerpent #ComeFollowMe #Numbers21 #BibleStudy #LatterDaySaints #InformedSaints #AncientNearEast #Seraphim #Nehushtan #Isaiah #Nephi #JesusChrist #ScriptureStudy #Mormon #BibleArchaeology #HebrewBible #OldTestament #LDSChurch
Transcribe →Linguist Finds 1,650 Hebrew Words Hidden in Ancient American Languages
May 300:37:10Tap to summarizeWhat if the strongest evidence for the Book of Mormon isn't archaeological but linguistic? In this episode of Informed Saints, Jasmin Rappleye, Neal Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot sit down with Brian Stubbs, a respected Uto-Aztecan linguist whose foundational comparative dictionary of the language family was praised as a "monumental contribution" by Kenneth Hill in the International Journal of American Linguistics. After decades of work, Stubbs has documented more than 1,650 cognate sets connecting Hebrew, Aramaic, and Egyptian to the Uto-Aztecan language family, which spans from the Utes in the north to the Aztecs in the south and includes more than thirty languages across western North America and Mexico. In this conversation, we cover: What cognates are and why consistent sound correspondences are the gold standard for establishing a relationship between languages. Why linguists generally require at least 10% overlap to establish relatedness, and how Stubbs' Semitic and Egyptian data accounts for roughly 60% of the cognates in his Uto-Aztecan dictionary. Specific cognate examples, including barak/peroq (lightning), bat/pata (daughter), and saba/sipo (star). How a single Aramaic dialect from northern Palestine matches Uto-Aztecan in a way that points to ancient northern Israel, the region of Manasseh and Ephraim. The remarkable "lion to mountain lion" sound shift that directly addresses one of the most cited Book of Mormon anachronisms. The two distinct sound correspondences in Uto-Aztecan (Semitic-P and Semitic-Kw) that suggest two related but distinct language groups merged into one population, an unexpected parallel to the Nephite-Mulekite merger described in the Book of Mormon. Why language evidence is uniquely unfakable compared to inscriptions and physical artifacts. Endorsements from David H. Kelley, John Robertson, Dirk Elsinga, Roger Westcott, and other prominent linguists. Brian Stubbs' latest research will appear in a forthcoming volume from the Religious Studies Center at Brigham Young University entitled "In the Eyes of the Ancient: Historical Perspectives on the Book of Mormon." ===Informed Saints Credits=== Produced by The Ancient America Foundation Producer: Spencer Clark Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye Further Readings: https://interpreterfoundation.org/journal/exploring-semitic-and-egyptian-in-uto-aztecan-languages https://interpreterfoundation.org/journal/an-american-indian-language-family-with-middle-eastern-loanwords-responding-to-a-recent-critique https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/exploring-the-explanatory-power-of-semitic-and-egyptian-in-uto-aztecan https://www.velikovsky.info/roger-w-wescott/ https://interpreterfoundation.org/journal/answering-the-critics-in-44-rebuttal-points https://rsc.byu.edu/book/eyes-ancients Study deeply. Believe boldly. ===Discover=== If any of our thoughts resonated with you, consider learning more about the single most influential book in our lives. https://www.discoverbookofmormon.org/ ===Content Disclaimer=== The views expressed represent ours alone and do not necessarily reflect the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Subscribe to Informed Saints for scholarly conversations on the Book of Mormon, Restoration history, and the scriptures. #BookOfMormon #UtoAztecan #BrianStubbs #Hebrew #LDS #ComeFollowMe #BookOfMormonEvidence #Linguistics #AncientAmerica #Apologetics #InformedSaints #FAIRMormon #JosephSmith #Nephite #Mulekite #ChurchHistory #LatterDaySaints #Mormon #NativeAmerican #Egyptian #Aramaic
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