This executive summary of the FIRM Foundation’s new Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (henceforth AEBOM ) is written in response to many inquiries Book of Mormon Central has received about the volume, and to report in a concise, objective manner its many glaring deficiencies. After a careful page-by-page analysis, the reviewers have found so many fundamental and...
In the third part of our Improvement Era mini-series, this week we feature the first part of Elder B.H. Roberts’s article on Corianton, the most troublesome of the sons of Alma the Younger. As with his previous article, Elder Roberts once again speaks to the youth of the Church. He also leaves them with the caution to not dismiss the words of the scriptures or the prophets because some...
The Joseph Smith Papers Project, under the auspices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has published a new volume in the landmark series. The Joseph Smith Papers, Revelations and Translations, Vol. 4: Book of Abraham and Related Manuscripts includes, for the first time, the extant Book of Abraham manuscripts, the first printed edition of the Book of Abraham, the...
Continuing in our Improvement Era mini-series, this week we feature Elder B.H. Roberts’s article on Shiblon, one of the sons of Alma the Younger. As with his previous article, Elder Roberts again speaks to the youth and young adults of the Church. Shiblon is not as well-remembered as his two brothers; the prophet Helaman of stripling warriors’ fame or Corianton the prodigal missionary...
The Church History Department recently published a response to some concerns about the new book "Saints" and Book of Mormon geography. "Since the publication of Saints, Volume 1: The Standard of Truth, 1815–1846, some concern has been expressed online and to us personally that the text of the book has expressed a preference against a “heartland” model of Book of Mormon geography. We have been...
Almost 120 years ago, Elder B.H. Roberts of the First Council of the Seventy wrote a four-part series in the Improvement Era focusing on Alma the Younger's counsel to his three sons: Helaman, Shiblon, and Corianton. These short articles were geared towards the youth and young adults of the Church. Today, we bring you the first of these articles, this one discussing Helaman. Although the...
During the October 2018 Women's Session of General Conference, President Russell M. Nelson said, "I invite you to read the Book of Mormon, between now and the end of the year. As impossible as that may seem, with all you are trying to manage in life, if you will accept this invitation with full-purpose of heart the Lord will help you find a way to achieve it. And as you prayerfully study, I...
In today's world, when leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints interact with world leaders, it is traditionally a pleasant and cordial experience. However, in the nineteenth century, this was not always the case. The following letter was written by Elder Parley P. Pratt while on his first mission to Great Britain, and presented as a message to Queen Victoria. It was later...
In the early 1900s, some discussion arose among Church members about the roles of God the Father and Jesus Christ. The First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles issued a combined statement in 1916 to clarify the meaning of certain scriptures where Jesus Christ, or Jehovah, is designated as the Father. This was distributed through the Improvement Era and other Church publications...
Some critics have disparaged the Book of Mormon’s language for being too repetitive. This may lead readers to wonder if it has any literary merit at all. The following video demonstrates that the Book of Mormon’s redundancies are actually sophisticated literary features which, in many cases, are similar or identical to literary techniques used by ancient Hebrew authors. A number of other Hebrew...
