Insights: An Ancient Window--
The Newsletter of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies
1989, No. 2

New Membership Policy Announced

Beginning with this Newsletter, F.A.R.M.S. announces a new membership policy. The changes affect all our readers. F.A.R.M.S. is preparing to move with vigor into the 1990s, and this is a good time to enhance the relationship between the Foundation and its members. Commencing September 1, 1989, F.A.R.M.S. becomes a membership organization. All who have been receiving the F.A.R.M.S. Newsletter will now need to enroll as members of the Foundation in order to continue receiving issues of Insights. Under this new arrangement, members will enjoy an expanded list of benefits.

Regular Members who pay annual dues of $9.00 will receive these privileges and benefits:

• Newsletter, copies of the quarterly Insights for 1990
• Ten-year report on F.A.R.M.S.
• 15% off the retail priceof any book on scriptural research (including the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley) published by Deseret Book or Bookcraft when ordered through F.A.R.M.S.
• 15% off the retail price of any book on scriptural research published by Doubleday (including the Anchor Bible Series) when ordered through F.A.R.M.S.
• Reference Service available only to members. Up to three requests per year may be made for information about what has been written on any topic having to do with the Book of Mormon and related research

Gold Members who pay $60.00 per year or more ($50.00 are tax deductible) receive all of the benefits of regular membership, plus:

• 20% off the retail price of any book on scriptural research published by Deseret Book, Bookcraft, or Doubleday when ordered through F.A.R.M.S.
• F.A.R.M.S. Updates (eight special reports per year on the latest in Book of Mormon research)
• Full access to the Reference Service

Liahona Club Members who contribute $500.00 per year ($475.00 are tax deductible) receive all the benefits of Gold members, plus:

• Free copies of all new F.A.R.M.S. Papers, Reprints and Working Papers

Limited Membership, which includes all benefits of regular membership, is available for low-income families and students for $5.00 per year (no temporary missionary addresses, please).

This change in the F.A. R.M.S. membership policy coincides with our tenth anniversary. In the 80s, F.A.R.M.S. has grown rapidly due to the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and the generous donations of thousands of contributors and supporters. In the past, many have received introductory and complimentary mailings. In the future, only members will receive the Insights Newsletter. Your dues cover the direct operation costs of the Foundation.

Your benefits begin as soon as your membership dues are paid and continue for twelve months.

Contributions are also welcome and greatly needed to fund scriptural research as well as public services. They are tax deductible. Substantial contributors receive additional benefits. If you have recently contributed and wish to apply that donation to your membership dues for 1990, please let us know. Thanks for your support!

We invite you to move with F.A.R.M.S. into the 1990s, the Foundation's second decade of study, faith, and service. Enroll as a member of the Foundation by using the attached order form today.

Covenants and Religious Validity

The text of Richard L. Anderson's 1988 first annual Book of Mormon Lecture is now available. Entitled "Religious Validity: The Sacramental Covenants in 3 Nephi," this paper demonstrates the covenantal nature of the teachings of Christ in the New and Old Testaments, a crucial feature of doctrine that was lost in the Apostasy. Anderson explores the essential requirements of obedience involved in the "New Covenant" established by Jesus in the New Testament, and then demonstrates subtle and consistent similarities between the New Testament Greek and the doctrine of Christ in 3 Nephi. He discusses baptismal covenants and the sacramental liturgy, historically and doctrinally, and contrasts the role of oaths and promises in the gospel with incongruous notions of grace and mere fellowship that predominate in the typical Christian sacrament. By restoring the original intent, the Book of Mormon shows itself to be historically and religiously valid, and points the way to getting "nearer to God than by any other book."

Armor in the Book of Mormon

The types of armor used in various civilizations are determined by a combination of technology, natural resources, economy, military practices, and artistic conventions. Although there are few detailed descriptions of armor in the Book of Mormon, the basic pattern can be outlined and is quite unlike the armor of Western Europe. As discussed by William Hamblin, Book of Mormon armor consisted of thick clothing, skins, breastplates, shields, and head plates. Based on internal and archaeological evidence, it seems certain that most of this armor was made from cloth, leather, wood, and stone. Metal armor is mentioned only once (Mosiah 8:10) and probably refers to metal plates attached to a leather, cloth, or wooden base, and would have been worn only by the elites. When the Book of Mormon descriptions of armor are compared with biblical descriptions and with the armor used in Mesoamerica, we find that the Book of Mormon differs from biblical descriptions in precisely the same places where Mesoamerican armor differs most from ancient Near Eastern armor.

Temple Bibliography

Temple worship and service were common elements in ancient Near Eastern societies. Connected with the temple system were various ritual practices. Present-day scholars find fascination and mvstery while studying these sanctuaries and their environs, and seem never to exhaust the possibilities in writing about new discoveries.

For those interested-in the study of ancient temples, an extensive LDS and scholarly bibliography is now available. The bibliography, prepared by Donald W. Parry, Stephen Ricks and John Welch, contains some 3,000 entries books, monographs, articles, and papers. Subjects include temples of Greece, Egypt, Palestine, the Roman Empire, Syria, and Mesopotamia, and such related topics as mountains as temples, sacred space, sacrificial orders, ritual, ceremonial vestments, initiation, and kingship.

Gadianton Robbers as Guerrilla Warriors

Guerrilla warfare has become depressingly familiar to us from places like China, Nicaragua, Angola, Cuba, Korea, the Spanish Sahara, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. Although guerrilla tactics have received much attention and achieved notable success in the socalled "Cold War," they are not really new. On the contrary, they can be identified in ancient times-and the Book of Mormon provides a particularly clear example of them. Daniel Peterson's insightful paper analyzes incidents from the book of Helaman and the first part of 3 Nephi in the light of the writings of Mao Tsetung,, Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and Vo Nguyen Giap, three of the most expert (and notorious) theoretician practitioners Of guerrilla warfare. He finds that the Book of Mormon, although published a full century before the earliest modern guerrilla experiments, describes the rise and fall of a Gadianton guerrilla campaign precisely along the lines that extensive modern experience would predict. How could a New York farm boy have made this up? Peterson asks.

Office Staff News

In July, Janet Twigg moved to Ohio. We will miss her loyal and valuable service as our Office Manager.

Brenda Miles, who has worked superbly for F.A.R.M.S. for over 3 years, has become our new Office Secretary.

Donald W. Parry, a Ph.D. candidate in Hebrew at the University of Utah, who has recently returned from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, has begun fulltime work as our new Office and Research Manager.

If you would like their help, contact Don or Brenda at P.O. Box 7113, University Station, Provo, UT 84602, or (801) 378-3295.

Donors

In our fiscal year just ended, F.A.R.M.S. received voluntary donations from 1330 individuals. A special thanks goes to the following who gave between $500 and $5,000 this year. Your support makes the work of the Foundation possible!

Iris Orton (Springville, UT)

Alan Ashton (Orem, UT)

Roger& Virginia Galland (Provo, UT)

John D. Chamberlin (Provo, UT)

Hugh C. Smith (Orem, UT)

Edward D. Smith (Las Vegas, NV)

Dr. and Mrs. Victor Werihof (Sacramento, CA)

Edwin & Leah Battson Foundation (SLC, UT)

John Carmack (SLC, UT)

J. Robert Driggs (Provo, UT)

Russell & Christie Frandsen (La Canada, CA)

Wallace E Hunt (Northridge, CA)

William Jex (Spanish Fork, UT)

Doyle and Madelyn Udy (Fort Collins, CO)

Einar C. Erickson (Hurricane, UT)

Richard L. Smith (SLC, UT)

Charles Randall Paul (Phoenix, AZ)