of Kurt Manwaring
Bruce A. Van Orden is the author of “We’ll Sing and We’ll Shout: The Life and Times of W. W. Phelps,” and an emeritus professor of church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University. Continue reading “10 questions with Bruce Van Orden”
Robin Jensen is a co-editor for the latest volume of the Joseph Smith Papers, “Revelations and Translations, Vol. 4: Book of Abraham and Related Manuscripts.” In this interview, he answers questions about the new publication and explains why it is a landmark volume. Continue reading “New Joseph Smith Papers volume offers unprecedented access to Book of Abraham materials”
I recently had the privilege to interview Patrick Mason for “10 questions.”
Mason is the Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University and has an essay in “To Be Learned is Good: Essays on Faith and Scholarship in Honor of Richard Lyman Bushman.”
In February 2018, I had the privilege to interview Daniel C. Peterson for “10 questions.”
Peterson is the president of the Interpreter Foundation, a scholar of Islam, and the founding editor of the Middle Eastern Texts Initiative at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship.
*Updated: Feb. 2, 2018
In January 2018, I had the privilege to interview John Gee, author of “An Introduction to the Book of Abraham.”
Gee is perhaps today’s most well-known Mormon Egyptologist and has been gracious enough to sit down for an interview to share his thoughts and experiences about the intersections of faith and scholarship.
While working on a review of a book about Joseph Smith and seer stones, my daughter came home from church and told me they had talked about seer stones in Sunday School. “The teacher said we should believe Joseph Smith was a prophet,” she said, “even though he made mistakes like using seer stones.”
The comment provided a good opportunity to discuss how seer stones were not a mistake, but rather Continue reading “10 questions and answers about Joseph Smith and seer stones”
John Gee is perhaps the leading Mormon commentator on the Book of Abraham – a portion of Mormon scripture that is simultaneously vital to the Mormon belief of premortal existence and heavily debated inside of academic circles. As a believing Mormon with a Ph.D. in Egyptology from Yale University, Gee brings a wonderful mix of perspectives to the discussion. Continue reading “Book Review: An Introduction to the Book of Abraham”
In early 2017, I published a short Q&A for the Deseret News on Joseph Smith and seer stones. The article was intended for a general audience and based upon a book by Michael Hubbard Mackay and Nicholas J. Federick, Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones.
The book is rather short, but not necessary entirely conducive to concise and understandable descriptions of common questions about the topic. In an effort to secure quotes about popular questions that could easily fit within the narrative tone of the article, I contacted the authors for an interview.
Frederick consulted with Mackay and responded to the three questions I posed on November 05, 2016.
Continue reading “Nicholas J. Frederick comments on Joseph Smith’s seer stones”