Reexploring the Book of Mormon: A Decade of Recent Research

This book is a collection of short articles that appeared in the FARMS newsletters as Updates. Here, they are organized in the order of the Book of Mormon, from 1 Nephi through Moroni. Each article focuses on a specific idea and are all interesting and informative. For example, on addresses why Joseph Smith is referred to as the AUTHOR of the Book of Mormon (so many anti-Mormons weakly claim the term demonstrates the book as a fiction), another addresses Ammon chopping off the arms of those trying to rob the kings animals and its parallels with the cultures in the middle-east, another the use of antenantiosis in the Book of Mormon (it is a figure of speech that states a proposition in terms of its opposite "ye shall in nowise be cast out" or "despise not"). There eighty-five of these interesting notes with many pictures, diagrams, and maps. The book also has a scripture index and a general index, both of which are very useful. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to gain some new perspectives in the study of the Book of Mormon.

This book relseaed by FARMS in the early 1990's is one of the books I would suggest to anyone, LDS or no-LDS, to better understand the text from a variety of perspectives. First of all, the exegetical, with such essays focusing on the meaning and background to pericope within the Book of Mormon text, such as the Nephite Sacramental prayers in Moroni 4-5 and their historical development within Nephite culture, as seen in Mosiah 1-6 and 3 Nephi 18. Moreover, there is the scholary and apologetic, with the discussion of the disscovery of the place "Nahom" in 1 Nephi 16:34, and many other issues, some which refute critical claims against the Book of Mormon volume.

An excellent resource on the first 10 years of research on the Book of Mormon by the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS). It covers the whole of the Book of Mormon, going chapter by chapter according to the information found on a variety of topics. It deals largely with the "evidence" found on the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Granted, it does not "prove" the Book to be true, it does increase the potential of the Books divine/historical authenticity comming from an uneducated youth in upstate New York.