Gary W. Toyn

At a Glance Martin Harris lost his marriage, his church standing, and any financial return on his investment — yet never denied that he saw an angel and the golden plates. Even his critics and enemies consistently described him as honest, upright, and respected. He was not a dupe, but a natural skeptic who rigorously tested Joseph Smith's claims before committing his money or his testimony. Over nearly fifty years, through excommunication, poverty, and sustained community rid

What the data shows and why it surprised researchers Newsweek, November 2025. The headline that prompted a closer look at what the data actually shows AT A GLANCE: The headlines say American religion is collapsing. Maybe so, but the story is different for Latter-day Saints. A team of BYU researchers analyzed five major national datasets and found something social scientists didn't expect: Latter-day Saints lead every religion in the United States in active participation. Not

What if doctrines critics call “un-biblical” were actually ancient? Modern biblical scholarship is reconstructing a religious world that looks surprisingly familiar to Latter-day Saints. Quick Summary: The Old Testament Reflects a Reform Movement Modern biblical scholarship widely agrees that during the reform period of the 7th and 6th centuries BCE, Deuteronomist editors reshaped Israel’s sacred texts. In their effort to centralize worship and reinterpret earlier traditions,

Summary : We've been reading Hebrew scriptures with Greek minds, and it's quietly shaping how we experience faith, repentance, and scripture in ways most of us never notice. Pontius Pilate asked Jesus a question that reveals the classic confrontation between Greek and Hebrew thinking. Jesus spoke of bearing witness to the truth. Of people hearing His voice. Of His kingdom not being of this world. Pilate responded with the most Greek question imaginable: ' What is truth ?' Pil

Joseph Smith Receives the Gold Plates, by Kenneth Riley In a courtroom, attorneys rarely ignore testimony unless they believe it will not help their case. When a witness goes unchallenged, jurors notice. Silence can sometimes be revealing. History is not a courtroom, but the analogy is useful. For nearly two centuries, critics have focused almost entirely on impeaching the Three Witnesses and Eight Witnesses  of the Book of Mormon. Entire books and lectures have attempted to

What the Dead Sea Scrolls Reveal About Joseph Smith's Enoch (Because readers approach this question from different theological starting points, I’ve also prepared this companion essay that examines the same evidence using a more neutral historical framework, written for non–Latter-day Saint and critical audiences.) If you have ever wondered whether Joseph Smith was truly a prophet, the story of Enoch offers an unexpected and intriguing place to look. In 1948, more than a cen

What the Dead Sea Scrolls Reveal About Joseph Smith's Enoch (Because readers approach this question from different theological starting points, I’ve also prepared a companion essay here , written specifically for a Latter-day Saint audience.) Abstract: This article reexamines the parallels between Joseph Smith’s nineteenth-century account of Enoch and a body of ancient Jewish literature, most notably the Book of Giants preserved among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Rather than arguin