The date was 600 BC. War was raging in the Middle East. As Assyria and Chaldea battled for control, the people and countries around them had to make choices of their own. Who did Pharaoh support? What did it take to fell the Assyrian empire? Were the Babylonian victors any less cruel than their predecessors? For the floundering nation of Judah, each turn of the tide brought uncertainty. As an increasing number of people were carried off captive, those remaining had to daily make the choice: do we stay or do we flee? Lehi, led by the hand of God, took his family and escaped his war-torn homeland. Yet little is known about his epic journey or the forces that may have been at play during his time. A merchant by trade, Lehi certainly was familiar with Egyptian culture and may even have been influenced by the Greeks and the Romans. But did he ever meet Nebuchadnezzar? What about other important leaders of the time? Certainly, he and his family were in danger simply because they were Jewish, but did his prophecies single him out in the eyes of the powerful world rulers?

A significant achievement, this book moves our understanding of the history of Israel forward as dramatically as John Bright's A History of Israel, Martin Noth's History of Israel, and William F. Albright's From the Stone Age ot Cristianity did at an earlier period.

The author demonstrates that the Book of Mormon is a native Mesoamerican book (or codex) that exhibits what one would expect of a historical document produced in the context of ancient Mesoamerican civilization. He also shows that scholars' discoveries about Mesoamerica and the contents of the Nephite record are clearly related, listing more than 400 points where the Book of Mormon text corresponds to characteristic Mesoamerican situations, statements, allusions, and history.

"The Vitality of Mormonism: Brief Essays on Distinctive Doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" by James E. Talmage is a thought-provoking exploration of the beliefs and doctrines of the Latter-day Saint faith. Talmage, a prominent figure in the LDS Church, provides insightful essays that shed light on the distinctive teachings of Mormonism. This book is a valuable resource for those seeking to understand the religious tenets of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This is volume 35 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship published by The Interpreter Foundation. It contains the complete text of Labor Dilgently to Write: The Ancient Making of a Modern Scripture by Brant A. Gardner.