John W. Welch of BYU has released a new and exciting book on the Book of Mormon entitled The Legal Cases in the Book of Mormon. In this new volume, published by the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, Welch explores the trials and legal cases in the Book of Mormon (such as the trial of Abinadi) and attempts to show an ancient context for the reasoning, verdict, and cases presented in each trial. Welch covers many legal cases in this volume, and offers unique insights into all of them in the context of the ancient Near East and biblical law.
Welch is no stranger to Book of Mormon studies. He has written many articles on the Book of Mormon and the ancient world, including, most importantly, the importance of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon.[1] The reader is highly recommened to read his materials on the FARMS website.
The book may be purchased here: http://www.jrcls.org/book.php or here: http://www.byubookstore.com/ePOS?this_category=127&store=439&item_number=3258151&form=shared3%2fgm%2fdetail%2ehtml&design=439
[1] It was Welch who discovered chiasmus in the Book of Mormon while he was on his mission in Germany. To see the whole story, click here.
