Skip to main content
Religious Studies Center
Religious Education
Home About Us Publications Conferences My Gospel Study Videos & Podcasts
  Site Search
Sign In Sign Out

Religious Educator Vol. 18 No. 2 · 2017

Go to Religious Educators
Photo of Journal Cover
Subscribe
Purchase a Copy

Table of Contents

  • The Book of Mormon’s Relevance Today
    Editor's Note
  • "America Reads" and the Book of Mormon
    D. Todd Christofferson
  • How "Come unto Me" Fits into the Nephite Gospel
    Noel B. Reynolds
  • Shifting View on the Male-Female Relationship: Same-Sex Marriage and Other Social Consequences
    W. Justin Dyer
  • Nonjudgmentalism Strikes Back: Moral Relativism and Conviction
    Daniel H Frost
  • Joseph Smith and the Recovery of “Eternal Man”
    Robert L. Millet
  • The Authority of Example: Emulation as the Path to Theosis
    Matthew Scott Stenson
  • Developing Teenage Testimonies: Programs and Pedagogy with Spiritual Impact
    John Hilton III and Anthony Sweat
  • Praying a Mission into Existence: Frantiska “Mamousek” Vesela Brodilova
    Mary Jane Woodger, Tyler Smith, and Kiersten Robertson
  • Discussing Difficult Topics: The Mountain Meadows Massacre
    Patrick Q. Mason and Thomas A. Wayment
  • Review of Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones
    Joseph M. Spencer
  • Review of An Experiment on the Word
    Nicholas J. Frederick

The Book of Mormon’s Relevance Today

Editor's Note

This issue of the journal features a little-known talk by Elder D. Todd Christofferson delivered at the Library of Congress to commemorate the Book of Mormon’s naming as one of the most important books published in America. The article is a gem, and although it was not circulated widely to the public, it presents a powerful witness to the reach of the Book of Mormon and its influence in American culture. Over the past two or three decades, scholars have become progressively more aware of the Book of Mormon as a religious text, and academic studies of the book are increasingly fair and sophisticated in their assessments.

As I worked on the articles for this issue, I was particularly impressed with the studies that attempt to grapple with issues of religion in the public square. The studies on moral relativism, marriage equality, and the assessment of the impact of scripture study programs in the Church all share a common thread: an open and balanced inquiry into topics that affect our daily lives. Justin Dyer attempts to situate the discussion of marriage equality within Western cultural thought and also grapples with the phenomenon of broad cultural acceptance. Daniel Frost dissects the current push to maintain an unbiased moral relativism and, in the process, highlights the assumptions upon which the movement is based. And John Hilton III and Anthony Sweat show the impacts in building testimony of different programs such as seminary, Sunday School, Young Men and Young Women programs.

I was also deeply moved in doing the interview with Patrick Mason. He shared a thought that caught my attention, and I have returned to it in my mind several times, “If we are not disturbed by what happened at Mountain Meadows, that is a condemnation on our ethical sensibilities.” I hope you’ll take a minute to read the interview as well as the other compelling contributions.

Thomas A. Wayment, Editor in Chief

Continue reading ...
Contact

185 Heber J. Grant Building
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT 84602
801-422-6975

Send Us a Message

Helpful Links

Religious Education

BYU Studies

Maxwell Institute

Articulos en español

Artigos em português

Connect with Us Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube

Subscribe to Our Newsletter