Mormon Scriptures Guided Lecture Notes
Introduction to Mormonism
- What is the actual name of the Mormon Church?
- Why is there some debate among Mormons and other Christians about whether the LDS faith is another denomination of Christianity or a new religion?
- What are some core similarities between the LDS Church and other forms of Christianity?
- What are some differences between the LDS Church and other forms of Christianity?
- Who founded the LDS Church?
- How did the Mormon religion begin?
- What happened to Joseph Smith?
- Where did the Church move to after leaving New York state?
- How many members of the Mormon Church are there today?
Introduction to Mormon Scriptures
- What are the four sacred texts of the LDS Church? And what does each contain?
The Origin of the Book of Mormon
- What happened on September 21, 1823?
- What did Joseph Smith start doing in 1827 and why?
- What was the translation process like?
- What happened to the first 116 pages of the translated text?
- Why was the Book of Mormon finally able to be completed in 1830?
- What happened to the plates that Smith was translating from?
- What are the “affidavits by the 3 and 8?”
Contents of the Book of Mormon
- When and where does the Book of Mormon begin? What happens at the beginning of the text?
- Who is Lehi and what does God tell him to do?
- Who is Nephi? What does God continue to tell Lehi and Nephi?
- What story does the Book of Mormon tell about Jesus?
- What does the Book of Mormon say about the two rival families/clans and how it relates to the prophecies from God?
- Who wrote down the Book of Mormon?
Muslim Scriptures Guided Lecture Notes
Introduction to Islam
- Who was Muhammad and what happened to him, beginning in 610?
- How did the religion of Islam begin?
- What is the “hijra?”
- Why did the Muslim community return to Mecca in 630 CE?
- What do Muslims believe about God?
- What is the role of prophets in Islam?
- How is Islam connected to Judaism and Christianity?
- What does the word “Islam” mean?
- How does it relate to how Muslims are supposed to live their lives?
Introduction to Muslim Scriptures
- What is the sacred text of Islam?
- What is recorded in the Qur’an?
- Who do Muslims believe to be the author of the Qur’an?
- What language does the Qur’an have to be in to be considered the real Qur’an?
- What is the relationship of the texts of the Qur’an to earlier sacred texts?
- What is “Hadith”?
- How many Hadiths are there?
Collection and Canonization of the Qur’an
- For how long did Muhammad receive revelations?
- How were the revelations safeguarded during Muhammad’s life?
- How were the revelations safeguarded after Muhammad’s death?
- Why was the Battle of Yamama in 633CE important for the canonization of the Qur’an?
- What was the role of Caliph Uthman in the canonization of the Qur’an?
Structure and Content of the Qur’an
- What are the individual sections of the Qur’an called?
- How many of them are there in the Qur’an?
- How are the Surahs ordered?
- What are the “Meccan Surahs” and “Medinan Surahs”?
- What does each Surah address?
- What are some major themes and categories of the content of the Qur’an? (list 5)
The Muqatta’at
- What are the “muqatta’at?”
- How many surahs have them?
- What do they mean?
- Why is their meaning unknown?
Qur’an = Recitations
- Is the Qur’an written in prose or poetry?
- Why is this poetic nature important for Muslims?
- What is the “Quranic Challenge?”
- Why did some of the first Muslims convert to Islam?
- What does it mean that the Qur’an is primarily an “aural” text?
- What did the Quranic recitation sound like?
Hadith
- What is the “sunnah?”
- Why is Muhammad sometimes called the “living Qur’an?”
- How and when were the hadiths compiled and written down?
- What is an “isnad?”
- What is a “matn?”
- What are the categories or “sahih,” “hasan” and “da’if?”
- How many Hadiths are there?
- Do all Muslims agree on which hadiths are authoritative?
- Which Hadiths do Sunni Muslims tend to see as authoritative?
- Which hadiths do Shi’a Muslims tend to see as authoritative?
- Who are the “Quranists” and what do they think of the Hadith?
How Hadith is Used in Islam
- How are the hadiths used in Islam?
- How does the Hadith help interpret the Quranic verse on modesty?
- What is Shariah law and how is used hadith used in the shaping of Shariah law?