Astronomy, Papyrus, and Covenant, edited by John Gee and Brian Hauglid, is the third volume in the Book of Abraham Series. It includes papers from a FARMS-sponsored conference on the Book of Abraham and covers such topics as Abraham’s vision of the heavens, commonalities between the Book of Abraham and noncanonical ancient texts, and the significance of the Abrahamic covenant. Available summer 2004.

Theodore Abu Qurrah, translated and introduced by John C. Lamoreaux of Southern Methodist University, includes first-ever English translations of most of Theodore Abu Qurrah’s writings, which treat such issues as the characteristics of true religion and the nature of free will. Abu Qurrah (fl. ad 810), the bishop of Harran (in modern-day southeast Turkey), was one of the first Christians to write in Arabic and to mount a sustained theological defense of Christianity against Islam. Available fall 2004.

The FARMS Review (vol. 16, no. 1), edited by Daniel C. Peterson, features a look at the mention of secret combinations in legal materials from the early 19th century and a look at trends in Book of Mormon apologetics. Other articles review books on the Mountain Meadows Massacre, violent fundamentalism, baptism for the dead, and Thomas S. Ferguson’s search for archaeological evidence supporting the Book of Mormon. Available summer 2004.