Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University Division of religion.

Thesis (Electroni). Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University Division of religion. / Also available in print ed.

Thesis (M.A.) B.Y.U. Division of religion.

Thesis (M.A.) B.Y.U. Division of religion. / Electronic thesis. Also available in print ed.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 278-300).

Project (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Instructional Psychology and Technology, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 48-51).

The problem was to create four oil paintings which illustrate Book of Mormon events.The Book of Mormon seems to hold forth great promise to the painter of religious subjects, but to the present only a limited number of artists have made use of this rich source. There is a need for good illustrations to help these scriptures come to life for the Book of Mormon reader.

The Book of Mormon was published over one hundred years ago. In the meantime, many articles have been written and many discourses have been published, both for and against this volume. In reflecting upon this matter the following questions arose in the mind of the author: Have the writers and speakers been concerned about the same materials, have they treated the same themes, as the years have passed? To ascertain whether or not there has been a shift in emphasis, the following investigation was undertaken.

This thesis critiques contemporary Latter-day Saint scholarly efforts to validate the historicity of the Book of Mormon through textual criticism by presupposing its historic authenticity, then combing the text for evidence of literary elements that may suggest ancient Hebrew authorship. Chapter 2 surveys current Latter-day Saint scholarship and arguments for internal evidence in support of the historicity of the Book of Mormon. Chapter 3 assesses the importance of King David’s influence over the biblical and non-biblical Hebrew cultural and religious identity to determine the likelihood and anticipated portrayal of the king’s appearance in the Book of Mormon. Given the Book of Mormon’s scant and peculiar nature of references to the fabled king, this chapter also argues that a competing testimony against the book’s historicity is produced. Chapter 4 offers concluding remarks.

As methods by which texts are to be understood, positivism and historicism have a long tradition and continue to exert wide influence in all academic disciplines. Other approaches to textual concerns have recently emerged to challenge the dominance of these two approaches. Foremost among these new approaches are hermeneutics and deconstruction. Both of the latter approaches recognize that interpretation is inescapable. The latter challenges even the possibility of determinate meaning. A theoretical discussion of historicism and positivism uncovers questionable and troublesome difficulties. Hermeneutics in its conservative or radical variations overcomes the difficulties of interpretation that positivism and historicism can't explain. As an example of the problems of positivism and historicism, several narratives from the Book of Mormon illustrate how readings by revisionist Mormon readers—those who believe it is a modern work of fiction rather than an authentic ancient document—find exactly the evidence sought, largely without consulting the text they attempt to explain. Using biblical criticism with the assumption that it will illuminate the Book of Mormon text, especially of the literary rather than the historical variety, the narratives are complex and sophisticated works. Four narratives (the stealing of the daughters of the Lamanites, the broken bow, the Nahom incident, and the building of the ship narrative) illustrate the texture of the Book of Mormon as a set of complicated narratives that draw strongly from biblical archetypes of the exodus and patriarchal narratives.