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Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011 Volume 20 Number 1 Article 19 2008 Vol. 20 Num. 1 The FARMS Review FARMS Review Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/msr BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Review, FARMS (2008) "Vol. 20 Num. 1 The FARMS Review," Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011: Vol. 20 : No. 1 , Article 19. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/msr/vol20/iss1/19 This Full Issue is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1989–2011 by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. The FARMS Review The FARMS Review Editor Daniel C. Peterson Associate Editors Louis C. Midgley George L. Mitton Production Editors Don L. Brugger Larry E. Morris Cover Design Andrew D. Livingston Layout Alison Coutts Jacob D. Rawlins The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship Executive Director M. Gerald Bradford Director, FARMS Paul Y. Hoskisson Director, METI Daniel C. Peterson Director, CPART Kristian Heal Director, Publications Alison Coutts The FARMS Review Volume 20 • Number 1 • 2008 ! The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship Brigham Young University © 2008 Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship Brigham Young University All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America ISSN 1550-3194 To Our Readers The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholar ship encour- ages and supports re search on the Book of Mormon, the Book of Abraham, the Bible, other ancient scripture, and related subjects. The Maxwell Institute publishes and distributes titles in these areas for the benefit of scholars and interested Latter-day Saint readers. Primary research interests at the Maxwell Institute include the history, language, literature, culture, geography, politics, and law rele- vant to ancient scripture. Although such subjects are of secondary im- portance when compared with the spiritual and eternal messages of scripture, solid research and academic perspectives can supply certain kinds of useful information, even if only tentatively, concerning many significant and interesting questions about scripture. The Maxwell Institute makes reports about this research avail- able widely, promptly, and economically. These publications are peer- reviewed to ensure that scholarly standards are met. The proceeds from the sale of these materials are used to support further research and publications. The purpose of the FARMS Review is to help serious readers make informed choices and judgments about books published on the Book of Mormon and associated topics, as well as to publish substantial freestanding essays on related matters. We hope, thereby, to encour- age reliable scholarship with regard to such subjects. Most reviews and articles are solicited or assigned. Any person in- terested in writing a specific article or review should send a proposal to the editor. If the proposal is accepted, the Review style guidelines will be sent with the acceptance. The opinions expressed in these reviews and articles are those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the opinions of the vi • FARMS Review of Books 20/1 (2008) Maxwell Institute, its editors, Brigham Young University, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the authors’ employers. No por- tion of the reviews or articles may be used in advertising or for any other commercial purpose without the express written permission of the Maxwell Institute. The FARMS Review is published semiannually. See the Web site at maxwellinstitute.byu.edu for reviews and articles appearing in the FARMS Review. Contents Editor’s Introduction, “Concern for the Things of Eternity,” by George L. Mitton .......................................................................... xi Book of Mormon Bigelow, Christopher K. The Timechart History of Mormonism: From Premortality to the Present (Don L. Brugger, “Toward the Ultimate Book of Mormon Time line”) ...................................................................... 1 Wirth, Diane E. Decoding Ancient America: A Guide to the Archaeology of the Book of Mormon (Brant A. Gardner, “Where Much Is Promised, Less Is Given”) ................................................................................... 15 Articles Terryl L. Givens. “‘Common-Sense’ Meets the Book of Mormon: Source, Substance, and Prophetic Disruption” ............................. 33 Ronan James Head. “A Brief Survey of Ancient Near Eastern Beekeeping” ............................................................... 57 viii • The FARMS Review 20/1 (2008) Mormon Studies Babbel, Frederick. On Wings of Faith: My Daily Walk with a Prophet (Larry E. Morris, “Elder Ezra Taft Benson’s Incredible Experiences in Postwar Europe”) ................................ 67 Givens, Terryl L. People of Paradox: A History of Mormon Culture (Cherry B. Silver, “Mormon Culture: A Worldview”) ................. 73 Clark, Kim B. Armor: Divine Protection in a Darkening World (Sandra A. Thorne, “The Armor of God: Understanding the Metaphor”) ...................................................... 95 Article Richard N. Williams. “Faith, Reason, Knowledge, and Truth”......... 99 Book of Abraham Article John Gee. “Some Puzzles from the Joseph Smith Papyri” ................113 Mormonism and Science Salisbury, Frank B. The Case for Divine Design: Cells, Complexity, and Creation (James L. Farmer, “The Clockmaker Returns”) ......................... 139 Modern Atheism Harris, Sam. The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason (Gregory L. Smith, “‘Days of Miracle and Wonder’: The Faith of Sam Harris and the End of Religion”) ...................147 Contents • ix Miscellaneous Hanegraaff, Hank. The Mormon Mirage: Seeing Through the Illusion of Mainstream Mormonism (L. Ara Norwood, “Still Losing the Battle . Still Not Knowing It: An Open Letter to Hank Hanegraaff”) ..........175 Keating, Daniel A. Deification and Grace (Tom Rosson, “Deification: Fulness and Remnant”) ................ 195 Article James E. Faulconer. “The Myth of the Modern; the Anti-myth of the Postmodern” .................................................................................... 219 Book Notes Cramer, Steven A. Chosen: The Path to Divine Acceptance .............237 Hart, D. G. Deconstructing Evangelicalism: Conservative Protestantism in the Age of Billy Graham ...................................238 Hexham, Irving. The Christian Travelers Guide to Great Britain ...240 Hoffer, Peter Charles. Past Imperfect: Facts, Fictions, Fraud— American History from Bancroft and Parkman to Ambrose, Bellesiles, Ellis, and Goodwin ......................................................243 May, Dean L., and Reid L. Neilson, eds. The Mormon History Association’s Tanner Lectures: The First Twenty Years ..............245 McCraney, Shawn. I Was a Born-Again Mormon: Moving Toward Christian Authenticity ..................................................................246 Meldrum, D. Jeffrey, and Trent D. Stephens. Who Are the Children of Lehi? DNA and the Book of Mormon ................247 Millet, Robert L. Millet, and Gregory C. V. Johnson. Bridging the Divide: The Continuing Conversation between a Mormon and an Evangelical ......................................249 x • The FARMS Review 20/1 (2008) Musser, Donald W., and David L. Paulsen, eds. Mormonism in Dialogue with Contemporary Christian Theologies ...............252 Sweeney, Douglas A. The American Evangelical Story: A History of the Movement ..........................................................254 Welch, John W., and Larry E. Morris, eds. Oliver Cowdery: Scribe, Elder, Witness ...................................................................258 Wright, N. T. Paul: In Fresh Perspective ............................................260 About the Contributors ........................................................................ 265 Editor’s Introduction Concern for the Things of Eternity George L. Mitton, associate editor The Angel with the everlasting Gospel hath already flown through the middle of the Earth; Happy be they who shall receive it, nor despise this great treasure, by trampling it under their feet. The Sun of Righteousness shall shine upon them in his full light, and dispel these horrible Clouds with- out any prejudice unto them. Christopher Kotter, 1 June 1621, vision and prophecy of the end time1 f much concern to the Latter-day Saints is the attitude and reac- Otion of people when presented with the Book of Mormon and other revelations that God has called them to proclaim. Together with the Holy Bible, these scriptures provide the written word of God in these troubled times. Recently I took the opportunity to read and ponder some claimed revelations from Europe in the early 1600s. The passage quoted above caught my attention since it alludes to the prophecy in Revelation 14:6 about an angel bringing the everlasting gospel to the earth in the last 1. Prophecies of Christopher Kotterus, Christiana Poniatovia, Nicholas Drabicius: Three Famous German Prophets, trans. R. C. Gent, comp. Robert Codrington, 2nd ed. (London: Printed for Robert Pawlet at the Sign of the Bible in Chancery-lane, near the Inner-Temple Gate, 1664), 47, emphasis added. Hereafter cited as Prophecies. All quota- tions in the present essay preserve the original spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and other stylings. xii •