Solving The Prophet Puzzle

This book documents and details the Biblical profile of the Prophet Joseph Smith and provides the prophetic narrative behind his public Ministry.The book explains and makes sense out of the otherwise bizarre history of Mormonism and demonstrates that up until December of 1834, the Lord was using Joseph Smith to restore the fulness of the Gospel and Biblical Christianity. Following the breaking of the law of consecration and the everlasting covenant, the Latter day Saints were pronounced by God to be under condemnation and were promised that the fulness would return to the earth after a little season of chastisement, preparation and learning.The book provides the necessary context to understand why all of the very strange events of the LDS restoration movement took place.It provides contextual proof from the scriptures, of the veracity of the LDS Restoration Movement and the fact that Joseph Smith was a true prophet.This is the preliminary manuscript version of the book for those interested in participating in a peer review of the book and/or listening in on what is being said by members of a peer review.Much of the interpretation of LDS church history and scripture in the book, is the result of over 10,000 keyword search and corroboration from many readers of the authors blog, making the book, largely a crowdsourced work. To view comments and critique by members of the peer review up to this point, visit www.onewhoiswatching.wordpress.com or youtube and look for the series titled "Piece by piece: A peer review of the Book, Solving the Prophet Puzzle"The book is a large 8 1/2 by 11 with over 600 pages and over 1200 references and footnotes

Unraveling the complexities of Joseph Smith's character and motives is difficult, but before the puzzle can be solved, all the pieces must be gathered and correctly interpreted. Parts of the picture are still missing only because they have been overlooked, ignored, or mishandled--pieces which reveal previously hidden features of Smith's complex, conflicted, and gifted personality. Some of the contributors to this anthology look at the religious side of the prophet and explore his inner, spiritual world. Others look at secular issues. Some view the relevance of his activity as a treasure seer since this is one part of the puzzle that has not been fully investigated by Mormons generally. In pursuing the prophet puzzle, contributors seek to understand Joseph Smith, not to judge him, knowing that he is an enigma for believer and skeptic alike. As non-Mormon historian Jan Shipps, a contributor to this collection, observes, "The mystery of Mormonism cannot be solved until we solve the mystery of Joseph Smith." Contributors include Thomas G. Alexander, Robert D. Anderson, Gary James Bergera, Newell G. Bringhurst, Richard L. Bushman, Eugene England, Lawrence Foster, Ronald V. Huggins, Lance S. Owens, Karl C. Sandberg, Jan Shipps, Joseph Smith, Susan Staker, Alan Taylor, Richard S. Van Wagoner, Dan Vogel, and Steven C. Walker.

Why you will enjoy and be blessed by reading Solving the Prophetic Puzzle. This will happen because the purpose of the book is to help the average person make sense out of Bible prophecy. I believe by reading Solving the Prophetic Puzzle this is a highly possible task to achieve for both clergy and lay persons in the church and society. I also believe Bible prophecy is a timely topic for today's world because of many developments taking place in nations and society. Bible prophecy raises many questions about the direction and destiny of mankind that need to be addressed by the church. Bible prophecy should be very important to the church and the world because 25% of the Bible is about prophecy. I believe I have answered most of those questions found in the prophetic puzzle. At the least, I have presented Bible prophecy in a format that can be easily followed by the reader who wants to understand its place in their spiritual and mental development. In addition, Solving the Prophetic Puzzle will be an excellent Bible study guide and resource for pastors and lay Bible teachers. As you will see, the content of the book's twenty-six chapters covers the subject of Bible prophecy from Genesis through Revelation. Each chapter deals with specific Bible verses and passages about Bible prophecy and shows how they have been either fulfilled in history and/or point to a future fulfillment. Each of the writing sixteen Old Testament prophets is examined in detail as to their prophetic ministry and visionary messages. Other prophetic Biblical persons such as Moses, Samuel, David and Elijah are included in the book's content. The major New Testament prophecies of Jesus, Peter, John and Paul are alsodiscussed in detail. The book of Revelations is explored and explained in its entirety by chapter and verse. One of the prominent features of the book is how it explains that there are three separate programs found in prophecy about three different groups in history and in our world today. Those prophetic programs of God concern either Israel, the Gentile nations, or the church. The book shows how these prophetic programs in the past and in progress today are carefully interwoven throughout the Bible. Also the book reveals how each prophetic program will be affected as history unfolds by one or more of the other prophetic groups. I have shown how theology, history, archeology and theories based on Scripture and scientific information work together to present a clear and comprehensive picture of Bible prophecy. My goal is to help the reader understand prophecy by understanding the many pieces of the prophetic puzzle and where they fit in the prophetic picture. Whoever reads this book will be amazed at how easily they become knowledgeable about Bible prophecy and what God is saying about the future of mankind and the world! John Eldred Williams September 25, 2005

Why you will enjoy and be blessed by reading Solving the Prophetic Puzzle. This will happen because the purpose of the book is to help the average person make sense out of Bible prophecy. I believe by reading Solving the Prophetic Puzzle this is a highly possible task to achieve for both clergy and lay persons in the church and society. I also believe Bible prophecy is a timely topic for today's world because of many developments taking place in nations and society. Bible prophecy raises many questions about the direction and destiny of mankind that need to be addressed by the church. Bible prophecy should be very important to the church and the world because 25% of the Bible is about prophecy. I believe I have answered most of those questions found in the prophetic puzzle. At the least, I have presented Bible prophecy in a format that can be easily followed by the reader who wants to understand its place in their spiritual and mental development. In addition, Solving the Prophetic Puzzle will be an excellent Bible study guide and resource for pastors and lay Bible teachers. As you will see, the content of the book's twenty-six chapters covers the subject of Bible prophecy from Genesis through Revelation. Each chapter deals with specific Bible verses and passages about Bible prophecy and shows how they have been either fulfilled in history and/or point to a future fulfillment. Each of the writing sixteen Old Testament prophets is examined in detail as to their prophetic ministry and visionary messages. Other prophetic Biblical persons such as Moses, Samuel, David and Elijah are included in the book's content. The major New Testament prophecies of Jesus, Peter, John and Paul are alsodiscussed in detail. The book of Revelations is explored and explained in its entirety by chapter and verse. One of the prominent features of the book is how it explains that there are three separate programs found in prophecy about three different groups in history and in our world today. Those prophetic programs of God concern either Israel, the Gentile nations, or the church. The book shows how these prophetic programs in the past and in progress today are carefully interwoven throughout the Bible. Also the book reveals how each prophetic program will be affected as history unfolds by one or more of the other prophetic groups. I have shown how theology, history, archeology and theories based on Scripture and scientific information work together to present a clear and comprehensive picture of Bible prophecy. My goal is to help the reader understand prophecy by understanding the many pieces of the prophetic puzzle and where they fit in the prophetic picture. Whoever reads this book will be amazed at how easily they become knowledgeable about Bible prophecy and what God is saying about the future of mankind and the world! John Eldred Williams September 25, 2005

Last Days Madness explains the most difficult prophetic passages clearly and concisely. Gary DeMar sheds the light on Daniel 7:1314; 9:24-27, Matthew 16:27-28, 2 Thessalonians 2; 2 Peter 3:3-13 and dozens more. He identifies the Beast, the Antichrist, and the Man of Lawlessness, and clears the haze regarding Armageddon, the rebuilding of the temple, the meaning of 666, and much more. This ground breaking book is guaranteed to make you think and is your survival guide and spiritual compass to insure you escape the paralysis of last days madness.

Abdulkarim Soroush is known primarily for his epistemological/hermeneutical theory, the “Contraction and Expansion of Religious Knowledge,” and its application to Islamic political theory and religious pluralism. While his Reason, Freedom and Democracy in Islam applies that theory to plurality and the historicity of understanding and interpretation of religion, this book captures some of his original theories about religion itself. The Expansion of Prophetic Experience treats the historicity of the Prophet Muhammad’s revelatory experience, including human and contextual influences on the genesis of the sacred Text. It presents substantial aspects of Soroush’s Neo-Rationalist hermeneutical project for an Islamic reformed theology and ethics, systematically leading Islamic reformation beyond conventional projects of piecemeal adjustments to the Shari?ah or selective re-interpretations of the Qur??n.

This is volume 15 of Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture published by The Interpreter Foundation. It contains articles on a variety of topics including: "Questioning: The Divine Plan," "Three Streams of Gratitude for Jesus," "A Welcome Introduction," "Providing a Better Understanding for All Concerning the History of Joseph Smith’s Polygamy," "An Easier Way to Understanding Joseph Smith’s Polygamy," "Rediscovering the First Vision," "Say Now Shibboleth, or Maybe Cumorah," "Why the Oxford English Dictionary (and not Webster’s 1828)," "Psalm 82 in Contemporary Latter-day Saint Tradition," "Seeing Ourselves Through the Eyes of a Friendly and Thoughtful Evangelical," "Getting Cain and Gain," "'The Great and Terrible Judgments of the Lord': Destruction and Disaster in 3 Nephi and the Geology of Mesoamerica," "Freemasonry and the Origins of Modern Temple Ordinances," "A Mormon Theodicy: Jacob and the Problem of Evil."