When carefully examined, both secular and scriptural arguments for pacifism ultimately fail. Once such pacifist arguments are considered, rebutted, and respectfully set aside, it is possible to construct a sound framework for a scriptural view of war, at least in general terms. Such a framework is not pacifist, but it is anything but aggressive, and includes the quality of heart-not to mention, the wisdom-expected of all disciples of Christ, whatever their task or circumstance. It was not an anomaly when the Lord instructed the Nephites to defend their families "even unto bloodshed;" comprehensively understood, the statement expresses a genuine, profound, and conceptually rich scriptural principle.
Regarded as sacred scripture by millions, the Book of Mormon -- first published in 1830 -- is one of the most significant documents in American religious history. This new reader-friendly version reformats the complete, unchanged 1920 text in the manner of modern translations of the Bible, with paragraphs, quotations marks, poetic forms, topical headings, multichapter headings, indention of quoted documents, italicized reworkings of biblical prophecies, and minimized verse numbers. It also features a hypothetical map based on internal references, an essay on Book of Mormon poetry, a full glossary of names, genealogical charts, a basic bibliography of Mormon and non-Mormon scholarship, a chronology of the translation, eyewitness accounts of the gold plates, and information regarding the lost 116 pages and significant changes in the text. The Book of Mormon claims to be the product of three historical interactions: the writings of the original ancient American authors, the editing of the fourth-century prophet Mormon, and the translation of Joseph Smith. The editorial aids and footnotes in this edition integrate all three perspectives and provide readers with a clear guide through this complicated text. New readers will find the story accessible and intelligible; Mormons will gain fresh insights from familiar verses seen in a broader narrative context. This is the first time the Book of Mormon has been published with quotation marks, select variant readings, and the testimonies of women involved in the translation process. It is also the first return to a paragraphed format since versification was added in 1879.
This is volume 20 of Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture published by The Interpreter Foundation. It contains articles on a variety of topics including: "Reflecting on the 'Marks of Jesus'," "Dating Joseph Smith’s First Nauvoo Sealings," "A Pilgrim’s Faith," "'Idle and Slothful Strange Stories': Book of Mormon Origins and the Historical Record," "The Scalp of Your Head: Polysemy in Alma 44:14–18," "Now That We Have the Words of Joseph Smith, How Shall We Begin to Understand Them? Illustrations of Selected Challenges within the 21 May 1843 Discourse on 2 Peter 1," "Reading 1 Peter Intertextually With Select Passages From the Old Testament," "Turning to the Lord With the Whole Heart: The Doctrine of Repentance in the Bible and the Book of Mormon," "Many Witnesses to a Marvelous Work," "Nephi’s Change of Heart," "The Ammonites Were Not Pacifists," "'O Ye Fair Ones' — Revisited," and "Beauty Way More Than Skin Deep."
