Mormonism, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Texts

by Eugene Seaich

Just how do ancient documents discovered in the Middles East in the mid-twentieth century relate to Latter-day Saint beliefs? In this intriguing discussion, Latter-day Saint scholar Eugene Seaich answers that question and many others as he explores the fascinating connections among the Dead Sea scrolls, the Nag Hammadi texts, and the teachings of Mormonism. He shows us conclusively that those connections do indeed exist and that they support the mission and message of Joseph Smith. The very doctrines revealed by Joseph Smith to a startled world a hundred and fifty years ago have begun to reappear in the writings of the early Jews and Christians.

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Erneilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An older, somewhat polemical rebuttal of some anti-Mormon literature from the 1980s, a bit more scholarly than some of the popular material being presented in those days. I found it interesting.

[Eric Hendrickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just how do ancient documents discovered in the Middles East in the mid-twentieth century relate to Latter-day Saint beliefs? In this intriguing discussion, Latter-day Saint scholar Eugene Seaich answers that question and many others as he explores the fascinating connections among the Dead Sea scrolls, the Nag Hammadi texts, and the teachings of Mormonism. He shows us conclusively that those connections do indeed exist and that they support the mission and message of Joseph Smith. The very doctrines revealed by Joseph Smith to a startled world a hundred and fifty years ago have begun to reappear in the writings of the early Jews and Christians.The world is suddenly obliged to explain just how an uneducated farm-youth in frontier America was able to even name such beliefs as three levels of heaven, human premortal existence, a heavenly mother, eternal marriage, the bearing of posterity after the resurrection, man's divine origin and destiny, and many others - doctrines of which no Christian sect of the time had ever heard, let alone discussed or accepted. Thoughtful persons everywhere have been impressed by this extraordinary phenomenon. Though the real strength of Mormonism lies in the dramatic vision of man and his relationship to God, the fact that its teachings so closely parallel these newly recovered beliefs has convinced many that Joseph Smith's revelations were not drawn from imagination but correspond to actual historical realities. You will gain fascinating insights as you accompany Eugene Seaich in his exploration of those historical realities that link Latter-day Saint doctrine to the ancient teachings of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts.