Informed Saints

Why on earth would looking at a bronze snake on a pole heal someone bitten by a serpent? It's one of the strangest stories in the Old Testament and most readers move past it without a second thought.

But ancient Near Eastern artifacts, Israelite seals, and details preserved in the Book of Mormon reveal that the Brazen Serpent (the Nehushtan of Numbers 21) was anything but arbitrary. It was the perfect symbol and Nephi knew exactly why.

===Informed Saints Credits===

Produced by The Ancient America Foundation

Producer: Spencer Clark

Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye

In this episode, the Informed Saints crew break down Neal’s paper which covers:

• The Hebrew behind "fiery serpents" (ha-nəḥāšîm ha-śərāphîm) and what seraph actually means

• Bronze serpent wands from Egypt and figurines from Megiddo, Hazor, Shechem, Timnah, and Gezer — all associated with healing

• The 13th–11th century BC tent shrine at Timna with a bronze serpent inside

• The seraphim of Isaiah 6 as winged serpentine guardians of Yahweh's throne

• Isaiah 14:29's "fiery flying serpent" as an ancient Jewish Messianic prophecy

• Why Nephi adds "flying" to the serpents in 1 Nephi 17:41

• How the Hebrew word nēs (pole / ensign / battle standard) ties Numbers 21 to Isaiah's prophecies

• Why this whole web of imagery points unmistakably to Jesus Christ

Read Neal's full paper: https://interpreterfoundation.org/journal/serpents-of-fire-and-brass-a-contextual-study-of-the-brazen-serpent-tradition-in-the-book-of-mormon

Scripture references

Numbers 21:4–9

2 Kings 18:4 (the Nehushtan)

Isaiah 6, 14:28–29, 11:12, 13:2

1 Nephi 17:41

2 Nephi 25:20

Alma 33:19–22

Helaman 8:13–15

Scholarly sources mentioned in the episode

James H. Charlesworth, The Good and Evil Serpent: How a Universal Symbol Became Christianized

Karen Randolph Joines, Serpent Symbolism in the Old Testament

Anchor Bible Dictionary, entry on "Nehushtan"

Austin Henry Layard, Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon

Related background reading

Michael S. Heiser, The Unseen Realm (on the divine council)

Margaret Barker, The Older Testament (on First Temple theology and the Messiah)

Subscribe to Informed Saints for scholarly-grounded discussions of Latter-day Saint scripture, history, and archaeology. Study deeply, believe boldly.

===Discover===

If any of our thoughts resonated with you, consider learning more about the single most influential book in our lives.

https://www.discoverbookofmormon.org/

===Content Disclaimer===

The views expressed represent ours alone and do not necessarily reflect the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

#BookOfMormon #LDS #BrazenSerpent #ComeFollowMe #Numbers21 #BibleStudy #LatterDaySaints #InformedSaints #AncientNearEast #Seraphim #Nehushtan #Isaiah #Nephi #JesusChrist #ScriptureStudy #Mormon #BibleArchaeology #HebrewBible #OldTestament #LDSChurch

Chapters

(00:00:00) - The Brazen Serpent in the Book of Mormon
(00:04:21) - The Hebrew word for brazen serpent
(00:09:49) - Serpents in the Exodus
(00:16:22) - A Pantheon of Judean Gods
(00:17:53) - The Seraphim in Isaiah 6
(00:21:41) - Isaiah 14:20
(00:26:09) - How Does the Book of Mormon Contribute to This Discussion?
(00:32:59) - 2 Nephi 9: The Serpent of Fire

What if the strongest evidence for the Book of Mormon isn't archaeological but linguistic?

In this episode of Informed Saints, Jasmin Rappleye, Neal Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot sit down with Brian Stubbs, a respected Uto-Aztecan linguist whose foundational comparative dictionary of the language family was praised as a "monumental contribution" by Kenneth Hill in the International Journal of American Linguistics. After decades of work, Stubbs has documented more than 1,650 cognate sets connecting Hebrew, Aramaic, and Egyptian to the Uto-Aztecan language family, which spans from the Utes in the north to the Aztecs in the south and includes more than thirty languages across western North America and Mexico.

In this conversation, we cover:

What cognates are and why consistent sound correspondences are the gold standard for establishing a relationship between languages.

Why linguists generally require at least 10% overlap to establish relatedness, and how Stubbs' Semitic and Egyptian data accounts for roughly 60% of the cognates in his Uto-Aztecan dictionary.

Specific cognate examples, including barak/peroq (lightning), bat/pata (daughter), and saba/sipo (star).

How a single Aramaic dialect from northern Palestine matches Uto-Aztecan in a way that points to ancient northern Israel, the region of Manasseh and Ephraim.

The remarkable "lion to mountain lion" sound shift that directly addresses one of the most cited Book of Mormon anachronisms.

The two distinct sound correspondences in Uto-Aztecan (Semitic-P and Semitic-Kw) that suggest two related but distinct language groups merged into one population, an unexpected parallel to the Nephite-Mulekite merger described in the Book of Mormon.

Why language evidence is uniquely unfakable compared to inscriptions and physical artifacts.

Endorsements from David H. Kelley, John Robertson, Dirk Elsinga, Roger Westcott, and other prominent linguists.

Brian Stubbs' latest research will appear in a forthcoming volume from the Religious Studies Center at Brigham Young University entitled "In the Eyes of the Ancient: Historical Perspectives on the Book of Mormon."

===Informed Saints Credits===

Produced by The Ancient America Foundation

Producer: Spencer Clark

Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye

Further Readings:

https://interpreterfoundation.org/journal/exploring-semitic-and-egyptian-in-uto-aztecan-languages

https://interpreterfoundation.org/journal/an-american-indian-language-family-with-middle-eastern-loanwords-responding-to-a-recent-critique

https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/exploring-the-explanatory-power-of-semitic-and-egyptian-in-uto-aztecan

https://www.velikovsky.info/roger-w-wescott/

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Does There Be Evidence for Hebrew in Ancient America?
(00:00:23) - Prof. David Udo Aztecan on Comparative Lingu
(00:02:20) - Utah Aztec: Where Did It Originate?
(00:06:28) - Uncovering the Semitic and Egyptian Languages
(00:12:34) - Consistent patterns in Semitic languages
(00:20:18) - Possible Book of Mormon Language Origins in the Americas
(00:22:01) - Language change in Egyptian and Udo Aztecan
(00:25:55) - Mormon Book of Mormon: Lion
(00:26:55) - Sound Shift in Nephite and Egyptian Languages
(00:34:34) - The Case for Semitic Writing in the Book of Mormon
(00:35:08) - Language Evidence in the Book of Mormon

Is Facsimile 3 of the Book of Abraham really just a standard Egyptian funerary scene, as critics often claim? New research suggests the answer is far more complicated and far more interesting.

In this episode of Informed Saints, Jasmin Rappleye, Neal Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot sit down with Quinten Barney, whose master's thesis at BYU represents the most thorough comparative study of Facsimile 3 ever conducted. Barney has examined every known copy of the Book of Breathings (only 33 exist in the world) to see whether Facsimile 3 really matches the standard Egyptian corpus, and the results are striking.

In this conversation, we cover:

Why Facsimile 3 has been the most neglected of the three facsimiles and what that means for the current debate.

The significant differences between Facsimile 3 and the judgment scene from the Book of the Dead (chapter 125) that most critics compare it to.

Why the identification of the figure as Anubis has real Egyptological problems, including missing hieroglyphs, wrong clothing, wrong posture, and a missing headdress.

How Joseph Smith's identification of "Isis as Pharaoh" actually has grounds in the Greco-Roman Egyptian evidence.

Why only two Egyptologists have ever attempted to fully translate the hieroglyphic captions (Robert Ritner and Michael Rhodes) and what their translations disagree on.

The unique presence of stars above the figures in Facsimile 3 — a feature not found in any other Book of Breathings vignette — and how it ties to the astronomy theme.

The more than half dozen ancient extra-biblical sources describing Abraham teaching astronomy to Egyptians, most of which were unavailable to Joseph Smith.

Why the possible role of W.W. Phelps as editor matters for understanding the published explanations.

Quinten Barney's thesis is available free as a PDF from the BYU Scholars Archive for readers who want to go deeper into the technical details.

https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/7598/

If you think Facsimile 3 has already been "solved" by Egyptologists, this episode will challenge that assumption with the receipts to back it up.

===Informed Saints Credits===

Produced by The Ancient America Foundation

Producer: Spencer Clark

Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye

Further Readings:

Quinten Barney's Master's Thesis (Free PDF Download) https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/7598/ 

Gustav Seyffarth Description of Joseph Smith Papyri at St. Louis Museum (1856) https://bhroberts.org/records/0ueBOW-0Wur88/gs_mentions_js_papyri_in_st_louis_museum_describes_them_and_their_content

Michael Rhodes, "Facsimiles from the Book of Abraham," Encyclopedia of Mormonism https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/EoM/id/5528

The Egyptian Book of the Dead Overview https://exploreluxor.org/egyptian-book-of-the-dead/

John Gee, "Facsimile 3 and Book of the Dead 125" https://scripturecentral.org/archive/books/book-chapter/facsimile-3-and-book-dead-125

"Isis the Pharaoh: Facsimile 3, Figure 2," BYU Studies https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/isis-the-pharaoh-facsimile-3-figure-2

Fragment of Book of Breathing for Horos A, Joseph Smith Papers

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Quinten Barney on Facsimile 3 of the Book of Abraham
(00:01:35) - Why Facsimile 3 is so important
(00:05:04) - The Book of the Dead: Facsimile 3
(00:07:59) - The Book of Breathings
(00:12:16) - Is Isis the Author of the Book of Abraham?
(00:17:54) - Joseph Smith's Egyptian Explanations in The Times of Comics
(00:22:17) - Anubis in the Book of Mormon
(00:25:24) - Anubis in the Book of Breathings
(00:30:32) - Anubis in the Book of Breathings
(00:32:51) - Is the Book of Breathing Anubis?
(00:34:16) - What Does Facsimile 3 Mean for Egypt?

What if the historical evidence for the gold plates is as strong as the evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ?

In this episode of Informed Saints, Jasmin Rappleye, Neal Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot sit down with Josh Gailey, an ordained evangelist in the Church of Jesus Christ (headquartered in Monongahela, Pennsylvania) and author of "Witnessing Miracles: Historical Evidence for the Resurrection and Book of Mormon."

Josh applies the minimal facts argument pioneered by Gary Habermas of Liberty University to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. The result is a rigorous historical case that treats the stone box in the Hill Cumorah as the "empty tomb" of the Book of Mormon — an observable historical artifact that locals, enemies, and unlikely witnesses all confirmed.

In this conversation, we cover:

The PET analysis for historical claims: Proximity, Enemies, and Unlikely Testimonies.

Why Lorenzo Saunders, a lifelong critic of Joseph Smith, accidentally corroborated the 1823 excavation.

How Josiah Stowell's courtroom testimony gives us a physical description of the plates.

The 16 historical sources describing the hole in the hill on the west side of Cumorah.

Why the Three Witnesses' independent attestation of the angel and the plates is historically significant.

How Isaac Hale, Martin Harris, Emma Smith, and others interacted with the plates as unlikely witnesses.

Why the attempts of Palmyra money diggers to steal the plates function as enemy attestation.

The problems with the "ten plates" theory and other alternative explanations.

If you take the Resurrection seriously on historical grounds, this episode argues you have every reason to take the gold plates seriously on the same grounds.

Josh Gailey's book "Witnessing Miracles" and his companion article in the new FAIR volume "Defending the Book of Mormon" are both available for readers who want to go deeper.

===Informed Saints Credits===

Produced by The Ancient America Foundation

Producer: Spencer Clark

Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye

Further Readings:

https://fairlatterdaysaints.org/store/product/witnessing-miracles-historical-evidence-for-the-resurrection-and-book-of-mormon/

https://www.amazon.com/Defending-Book-Mormon-Proceedings-Conference/dp/B0FWH1TCJB

https://www.bookofmormonhistory.com/

https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/a-new-look-at-the-miracles-of-the-resurrection-and-the-book-of-mormon/

https://ses.edu/minimal-facts-on-the-resurrection-that-even-skeptics-accept/

https://scripturecentral.org/evidence/book-of-mormon-evidence-empty-stone-box

https://scripturecentral.org/evidence/stone-box-in-new-york

https://witnessesofthebookofmormon.org/other-witnesses/josiah-stowell/statements/

https://scripturecentral.org/evidence/book-of-mormon-evidence-composition-of-the-plates

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Witnessing Miracles, Historical Evidence for the Resurrection and Book of
(00:01:01) - Bookmark 10: The Resurrection and the Book of Mormon
(00:05:58) - The Minimal Facts Argument
(00:10:28) - Unlikely Witnesses to the Resurrection
(00:12:45) - Basic Facts of the Book of Mormon
(00:18:37) - The Real Story of the Book of Mormon
(00:24:30) - The Empty Tomb and Proximity
(00:25:46) - Stone Box and the Israelites
(00:31:08) - Incomical testimonies of the Golden plates
(00:33:13) - Josiah Testifies in the Gold Plates Case
(00:35:32) - Edward Stevenson and David Whitmer
(00:37:57) - Lorenzo Saunders on the Hole in the Hill
(00:44:30) - Printing Plates: Bring It On
(00:44:50) - Josh on the Historical Evidence for the Resurrection

Brigham Young has one of the most misunderstood reputations in all of Latter-day Saint history. Was he really a tyrannical dictator? A womanizing polygamist? Did he order the Mountain Meadows Massacre or even orchestrate the murder of Joseph Smith? In this episode of Informed Saints, we sit down with Dr. Daniel C. Peterson to debunk the top misconceptions about Brigham Young and uncover the real man behind the myths. Dr. Peterson shares insights from the upcoming "Becoming Brigham" documentary series, Le Jean Carruth's groundbreaking shorthand transcriptions, and new research that paints a far more nuanced picture of the Lion of the Lord.

Guest: Dr. Daniel C. Peterson — scholar of Islamic and Latter-day Saint studies, professor at Brigham Young University, and executive producer of the Becoming Brigham documentary series.

===Informed Saints Credits===

Produced by The Ancient America Foundation

Producer: Spencer Clark

Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye

— Sources Mentioned in This Episode —

Becoming Brigham Documentary Series https://becomingbrigham.com/

Becoming Brigham YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@BecomingBrigham

The Brigham Young Journals, Volume 1 (RSC/BYU Press) https://rsc.byu.edu/book/brigham-young-journals

This Abominable Slavery by W. Paul Reeve, Christopher B. Rich Jr., and LaJean Purcell Carruth https://global.oup.com/academic/product/this-abominable-slavery-9780197765029

This Abominable Slavery Digital Database https://thisabominableslavery.org

Tinkling Cymbals and Sounding Brass by Hugh Nibley https://www.amazon.com/Tinkling-Cymbals-Sounding-Brass-Collected/dp/0875795161

Sounding Brass (BYU Nibley Collection) https://nibley.lib.byu.edu/1949/01/02/sounding-brass/

"Death to Seducers!" by Craig L. Foster (Interpreter) https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/death-to-seducers-examples-of-latter-day-saint-led-extralegal-justice-in-historical-context/

Journal of Discourses (Church Gospel Topics) https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/journal-of-discourses

Journal of Discourses (BYU Digital Collections) https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/JournalOfDiscourses3/id/9599/

Journal of Discourses (Searchable) https://journalofdiscourses.com/

Six Days in August (Interpreter Foundation Film) https://interpreterfoundation.org/six-days-in-august/

— Additional Recommended Reading —

Brigham Young: American Moses by Leonard J. Arrington https://www.amazon.com/Brigham-Young-American-Leonard-Arrington/dp/0252012968

Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet by John G. Turner https://www.amazon.com/Brigham-Young-Pioneer-Prophet/...

Chapters

(00:00:00) - Daniel C. Peterson on His New Book on Brigham Young
(00:05:56) - What is the Truth about Brigham Young and His Practice of Polygy
(00:10:56) - Richard Britain on Middle Eastern Polygyny
(00:12:15) - A Lesson on Brigham Young
(00:17:04) - Neither Brigham Young nor the Mountain Meadows Massacre
(00:18:46) - Brigham Young: On the Murder of Joseph Smith
(00:24:44) - The Mean, Nasty Brigham Young
(00:29:17) - Utah's violence under Brigham Young
(00:34:41) - A Lesson on Brigham Young