BYU STUDIES Volume 50 Issue 4 2011

BYU Studies 50, no. 4, features a broad variety of articles and reviews, beginning with Robert L. Millet’s comparison of the teachings of Joseph Smith with those of John Calvin, highlighting “striking differences” between the religious traditions these men helped establish. Van C. Gessel explores some of the challenges involved in translating Christian doctrine and, particularly, LDS vocabulary into Japanese, a traditionally non-Christian language. In a related article, Joseph E. Richardson examines both the uses of metaphor and the difficulties of translating metaphor in cross-cultural communication. Recognizing that what we do not know in any field exceeds what we do know, Duane Boyce uses examples from both scriptural and scholarly pursuits to illustrate the need for humility in all our learning. David L. Clark and Bart J. Kowallis bring to light the story of a small LDS “branch” that formed in a World War II Japanese POW camp in the Philippines. Most of the members of this branch died tragically when a U.S. submarine sank their unmarked transport ship. Finally, a panel of four experts from different branches of study review Terryl L. Givens’s expansive new book When Souls Had Wings: Pre-mortal Existence in Western Thought.

Contents — Volume 50 Number 4 (2011)

Articles

"Joseph Smith Encounters Calvinism" by Robert L. Millet

"Coming to Terms: The Challenge of Creating Christian Vocabulary in a Non-Christian Land" by Van C. Gessel

"Religious Metaphor and Cross-Cultural Communication: Transforming National and International Identities" by Joseph E. Richardson

"The Spirit and the Intellect: Lessons in Humility" by Duane Boyce

"The Fate of the Davao Penal Colony #502 "Branch" of the LDS Church, 1944" by David L. Clark and Bart J. Kowallis

Poetry

"'Neat' as a Word of Approbation" by Clinton F. Larson

Book Review Panel

When Souls Had Wings: Pre-mortal Existence in Western Thought by Terryl L. Givens, reviewed by James L. Siebach, Dana M. Pike, Jesse D. Hurlbut, and David B. Paxman

Book Reviews

Now You See It, Now You Don't: Biblical Perspectives on the Relationship between Magic and Religion by Shawna Dolansky, reviewed by David A. Allred

Quotidiana by Patrick Madden, reviewed by Eric d'Evegnee

Book Notices