This book explores the literate and advanced cultures of two very separate groups in the Book of Mormon, (1) the Jaredites described in the book of Ether, and (2) the members of tribal Manasseh who dominate the remainder of the Book of Mormon. The first group flourished during the millennia before the arrival of the second group in a nearby area, and became extinct as a civilization not long after the arrival of that second group. Within the New World, only one complex culture arose which was literate, built great cities, and had a large population, namely the Olmec of southern Mexico -- the "mother culture" of the five subsequent advanced cultures of Mesoamerica. This book demonstrates how the Mesopotamian Jaredites brought with them a Sumero-Akkadian culture to the New World. The linguistics of Sumero-Akkadian are not only found systematically within the Jaredite onomasticon, but a comparison of Sumero-Akkadian with reconstructed ancient Olmec (Proto-Mixe-Zoque) strongly suggests the ultimate origin of that people in Mesopotamia at least 5 thousand years ago. In the second section of the book, an offshoot of tribal Manasseh (Clan Lehi) demonstrates its pervasive influence through an onomasticon almost exclusively showing derivation from Manassite names known from the Bible and archeology, and which are collocated geographically with each other and with a set of names known biblically to be associated with transjordanian tribes and southern areas, such as Midian (where Clan Lehi first goes to make good its escape from Judah).

The death of the ethnic Jaredites - the Hebrew descendants of Jared and his peple who left Israel and came to the New World - did not mean an end to the Jaredite Covenant. Kakmula sent the Jaredite Covenant to the natives of the outlying Jaredite (Olmec) provinces who accepted it. They became the Epi-Jaredites (Epi-Olmecs) of whom scientists are now studying. Anyone who accepts the Jaredite Covenant becones a Jaredite."

This collection of insights about the Book of Mormon adds to and complements the author’s legal publications about freedom of conscience, evidence and comparative constitutional law. The book includes insights distilled from contemporary anthropology, careful analysis of the doctrine of resurrection taught in the Book of Mormon, philosophical questions about the rule of law which inform life in contemporary society, and how reflection on the pervasive New Testament intertexuality in the Book of Mormon should increase the knowledge of modern readers. Important reading for scholars of religion and faith, and particularly those interested in understanding the beliefs and practices of member of The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints around the world.

This volume is a concentrated examination of the varied roles of scribes and scribal practices in ancient Israel and Judah, shedding light on the social world of the Hebrew Bible. Divided into discussion of three key aspects, the book begins by assessing praxis and materiality, looking at the tools and materials used by scribes, where they came from and how they worked in specific contexts. The contributors then move to observe the power and status of scribal cultures, and how scribes functioned within their broader social world. Finally, the volume offers perspectives that examine ideological issues at play in both antiquity and the modern context(s) of biblical scholarship. Taken together, these essays demonstrate that no text is produced in a void, and no writer functions without a network of resources.