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Mormon FAIR-Cast 108: Jeffrey Bradshaw on Temple Themes in the Scriptures

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Dr. Jeffrey Bradshaw discusses his book, Temple Themes in the Book of Moses as well as some examples of temple worship among early Christians, and the Jews. He also touches on the Book of Enoch, the Council in Heaven and ancient temple architecture.

Jeffrey M. Bradshaw (Ph.D., Cognitive Science, University of Washington) is a Senior Research Scientist at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) in Pensacola, Florida. Formerly, he led research groups at The Boeing Company and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He has authored hundreds of research articles and edited several volumes on topics relating to human and machine intelligence and interaction. Jeff was a missionary in the Belgium-Brussels mission, and has since served in a variety of teaching and leadership capacities including early-morning seminary teacher, bishop, high councilor, counselor in a stake presidency, stake executive secretary and temple ordinance worker. He and his wife Kathleen are the parents of four children.

Dr. Bradshaw has published a number of books addressing temples themes in the scriptures including “In God’s Image and Likeness,” “Temple Themes in the Book of Moses,” and “Temple Themes in the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood.” Each is available for purchase at the FAIR Bookstore, here.

Dr. Bradshaw also gave a presentation at the Temple on Mount Zion conference in Provo, Utah on September 23, 2012 regarding temple symbolism in the story of Noah’s ark, and is available for viewing on YouTube.

This recording is posted here by permission of K-Talk Radio. The opinions expressed in this interview do not necessarily represent the views of FAIR or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 107: Mesoamerican Connections to the Book of Mormon

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Professor Mark Alan Wright reflects on a number of Mesoamerican practices and their possible connection with the Book of Mormon, including “day-keepers,” Shamanism and divine investiture, taking the countenance of a god by wearing deity masks, and the Maya calendar system and prophecy. For Dr. Wright’s presentation on Nephite Daykeepers, see this YouTube video.

Mark Alan Wright earned his BA in Anthropology at UCLA and his MA and PhD in Anthropology (with a subfield of specialization in Mesoamerican Archaeology) from UC Riverside. His dissertation is entitled “A Study of Classic Maya Rulership.” He regularly conducts research in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize. Dr. Wright is Assistant Professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University.

This interview appears here by courtesy of the Interpreter. This views expressed in this interview do not necessarily represent the views of FAIR or of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 106: Temple Study Fireside 3–Importance of the Temple

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This is the third in a series of on-line fireside discussions of the book Temple Worship: 20 Truths That Will Bless Your Life, by Andrew C. Skinner. This discussion discusses the temple as being the “ultimate” of our worship, what it means to “serve” in the temple, where temples or temple worship can take place on the earth, the first endowments given in the Nauvoo Temple attic, temple “work” vs. temple “worship,” the fact that the Nauvoo temple was only in use for 2 months (8 weeks) before it was destroyed which makes us reflect on the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in ancient times, what it means to have a “fullness of the Holy Ghost” which we can attain to in the temple, and the profound importance of the temple in the lives of Latter-day Saints and in our worship in the Church. Panelists include Bryce Haymond, Gary Anderson, Gerald Smith, and William Hamblin.

This discussion was conducted live on August 22, 2012 through Google’s Hangouts on Air. It was streamed live on TempleStudy.com, where the video can also be found. A rough transcript of the discussion can be found here.

Andrew C. Skinner is a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, was dean of Religious Education and the first executive director of BYU’s Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. He holds master’s degrees in Biblical Hebrew and Jewish Studies and a Ph.D. in Near Eastern and European History, specializing in Judaism.  He is the author or co-author of over 100 publications.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 105: Temple Study Fireside 2–the Dead Sea Scrolls and Jacob at Bethel

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Professor William J. Hamblin leads the second of this series of on-line fireside discussions of the book Temple Worship: 20 Truths That Will Bless Your Life, by Andrew C. Skinner. This discussion focusses on the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Essenes, Qumran, the Temple Scroll, Jacob at Bethel the symbolism of Jacob’s Ladder, as well as some thoughts from Elder Carlos E. Asay. Others who participated in this disussion were Bryce Haymond and Gary N. Anderson. This discussion was conducted live on August 16, 2012 through Google’s Hangouts on Air. It was streamed live on TempleStudy.com, where the video can also be found. A rough transcript of the discussion can be found here.

Andrew C. Skinner is a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, was dean of Religious Education and the first executive director of BYU’s Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. He holds master’s degrees in Biblical Hebrew and Jewish Studies and a Ph.D. in Near Eastern and European History, specializing in Judaism.  He is the author or co-author of over 100 publications.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 104a: Temple Worship Fireside, Introduction, pt. 1

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Bryce Haymond of TempleStudy.com hosts this first in a series of on-line fireside discussions of the book Temple Worship: 20 Truths That Will Bless Your Life, by Andrew C. Skinner. Bryce is joined in this discussion by Frederick M. Huchel, Gary N. Anderson, Steve Reed, and Tevya Washburn. This discussion was conducted live on August 5, 2012 through Google’s Hangouts on Air. It was streamed live on TempleStudy.com, where the video can also be found. A rough transcript of the discussion can be found here. In this session, the participants discuss such things as what details about the temple can be discussed outside the temple, and the temple as a model of the universe.

Andrew C. Skinner is a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, was dean of Religious Education and the first executive director of BYU’s Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. He holds master’s degrees in Biblical Hebrew and Jewish Studies and a Ph.D. in Near Eastern and European History, specializing in Judaism.  He is the author or co-author of over 100 publications.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 103: Does DNA Research Disprove the Book of Mormon?

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Why do some people claim that DNA research proves that the Book of Mormon is not historical? Are they right? In this episode of Religion Today, which originally aired on KSL Radio on August 5, 2012, Martin Tanner interviews Dr. Ugo A. Perego about what we can conclude about the ancient inhabitants of American based on DNA research and what we cannot conclude.

Dr. Perego received a BS and a MS in Health Sciences from Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah) and a PhD in Genetics and Biomolecular Sciences from the University of Pavia (Pavia, Italy) under the mentorship of Professor Antonio Torroni. During the past decade, he has given nearly 200 lectures on DNA topics relating to population migrations, ancestry, forensics, and history (including LDS history). Ugo has also authored and co-authored a number of publications, including the recent: “Joseph Smith, the Question of Polygamous Offspring, and DNA Analysis” (in Craig Foster and Newell Bringhurst’s The Persistence of Polygamy, 2010); “The Initial Peopling of the Americas: A Growing Number of Founding Mitochondrial Genomes” (in Genome Research, 2010); “The Book of Mormon and the Origins of Native Americans from a Maternally Inherited DNA Standpoint” (in Robert Millett’s No Weapon Shall Prosper, 2011); “The Mountain Meadows Massacre and “Poisoned Springs”: Scientific Testing of the More Recent, Anthrax Theory” (in International Journal of Legal Medicine, 2012); and “Rapid Coastal Spread of First Americans: Novel Insights from South America’s Southern Cone Mitochondrial Genomes” (in Genome Research, 2012).

Ugo is married to Jenna and they are the parents of four boys and a girl. They live in Rome, Italy.

This recording was used by permission of KSL Radio and does not necessarily represent the views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of FAIR.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 102: What Can We Learn from The Dead Sea Scrolls

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What are the Dead Sea Scrolls? What do they have to say about Christianity? Do they prove that the LDS Church is true? Do they prove that any other church is false? In this episode of Religion Today, which originally aired on KSL Radio on May 27, 2012, Martin Tanner introduces the history behind the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and discusses their importance to the Christian and Jewish faiths.

This recording was used by permission of KSL Radio and does not necessarily represent the views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of FAIR.

Note that the first part of this recording has been lost.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 101: Dan Peterson takes questions

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Dan Peterson takes questions from callers who both support and oppose the Church on this live interview with Mills Crenshaw that appeared on K-Talk radio on July 31, 2012, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Brother Peterson answers questions about the Book of Abraham and a variety of questions about the Book of Mormon, including ones pertaining to DNA studies, Mesoamerican and Near-Eastern archaeology, and Joseph Smith’s production of the Book of Mormon.

A native of southern California, Daniel C. Peterson received a bachelor’s degree in Greek and philosophy from Brigham Young University (BYU) and, after several years of study in Jerusalem and Cairo, earned his Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Peterson is a professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic at BYU and founder and the editor-in-chief of the University’s Middle Eastern Texts Initiative (METI). He is a past chairman of the board of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) and, until very recently, served as Director of Advancement for its successor organization, the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. From 1988, when he founded it, through mid-June of 2012, he edited the FARMS Review, which was renamed the Mormon Studies Review in late 2011. He is the author of several books and numerous articles on Islamic and Latter-day Saint topics, including a biography of the Prophet Muhammad (Eerdmans, 2007). A former bishop, Dr. Peterson served in the Switzerland Zürich Mission, and, for approximately eight years, on the Gospel Doctrine writing committee for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He currently serves as a Gospel Doctrine teacher in his home ward. He is married to the former Deborah Stephens, of Lakewood, Colorado, and they are the parents of three sons.

This recording is posted here by permission of K-Talk Radio. The opinions expressed in this interview do not necessarily represent the views of FAIR or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 99: An Open Letter to Dr. Michael Coe

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In August of 2011, Mormon dissident John Dehlin interviewed mesoamarican scholar and non-Mormon Dr. Michael Coe about “Book of Mormon archaeology” on Dehlin’s podcast called “Mormon Stories.” In response, the Mormon mesoamerican scholar Dr. John Sorenson has drafted an open letter to Micahel Coe. It points out a variety of matters where Dr. Coe’s (and Dehlin’s) characterizations of both the discipline of Mesoamerican archaeology and the Book of Mormon account are either erroneous or greatly oversimplified. After quoting statements from the podcast, the “open letter” draws attention to technical literature that contradicts or modifies faulty claims, lest the errors be repeated. Instead of being a record that can be lightly dismissed, the Book of Mormon deserves to be studied with an open mind as a primary, if unconventional, source from an early Mesoamerican setting.

The full text of the letter can be found at fairlds.org.

The opinions expressed in this letter do not necessarily represent the views of the Church of Jesus Christ of Letter-day Saints, or of FAIR.