In the Book of Mormon, Ammon cuts off the arms of his Lamanite attackers at the waters of Sebus, and his fellow servants take those severed arms and present them to king Lamoni as “a testimony of the things which they had done” (Alma 17:39). Taking the body parts of one’s defeated enemies as trophies of valor and as a witness of how many were killed is a well-known practice throughout the ancient...

Alma 11 contains an intriguing story of a lawyer named Zeezrom and his contention with Amulek and Alma. However, this chapter starts off with a seemingly confusing and misplaced list of the Nephite monetary system. With names like antion, senine, ezrom, onti, readers may wonder why this list exists at all. Mormon’s explanation of the Nephite monetary system might illuminate several points of...

Cross-posted from Book of Mormon Resources . We are all indebted to mesoamericanist and BYU faculty member Mark Alan Wright for this remarkable insight. He published it in his 2014 Axes Mundi article in Interpreter and shared it with those of us on his 2015 tour of Guatemala. Mark Wright with Tikal Temple I in Background. Photo by Kirk Magleby. Why Did the Savior Emphasize His...

On October 28, 2019, Dr. Stephen Houston, one of the leading Maya archaeologists in the world, currently the Dupee Family Professor of Social Sciences at Brown University, gave the inaugural John L. Sorenson Lecture, sponsored by the BYU Department of Anthropology and Book of Mormon Central. Houston’s presentation, entitled, “Recovering a Lost World: The LiDAR Revolution and Ancient Maya Warfare...

The Book of Mormon is a volume of sacred scripture, but did you know that it also contains references to monsters and mythical creatures? The prophets in the Book of Mormon did not lack creativity when they described their lives and views on the gospel. You may be surprised at what these three monsters mentioned in the Book of Mormon can teach us about faith in our Heavenly Father and Jesus...

On Monday, October 28 at 4 pm in the Hinckley Center assembly hall on BYU Campus, Dr. Stephen Houston, the Dupee Family Professor of Social Sciences at Brown University, will give the inaugural John L. Sorenson Lecture: “Recovering a Lost World: The LiDAR Revolution and Ancient Maya Warfare.” Dr. Houston, one of the leading Mayanists in the world today, will share the results of his first full...

A new volume of the Joseph Smith Papers has been published by the Church Historian’s Press. The Joseph Smith Papers, Documents, Volume 8: February–November 1841 is the latest volume in the documents series , which “present[s] in chronological order with historical introductions and annotation most of the extant (or surviving) documents owned, created, or authorized by [Joseph] Smith.”...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a statement today concerning the geography of the Book of Mormon in the form of a new Gospel Topics essay titled “Book of Mormon Geography.” The new essay begins with this declarative statement: “The Church takes no position on the specific geographic location of Book of Mormon events in the ancient Americas. Church members are asked not to...

Cutting-edge technology has uncovered huge archaeological finds in the heart of ancient Mesoamerica. These finds confirm scriptures found in the Book of Mormon describing the world of the ancient Nephites and Lamanites.