Cwic Media- LDS Podcast / Latter-day Saints The Lost World Behind the Book of Mormon feat. Noel B. Reynolds
Mar 17, 2026
Noel B. Reynolds, a Book of Mormon scholar and former BYU Dean linked to FARMS, explores scribal schools, Egyptian connections, and the brass plates. He traces Manassite scribal traditions into Lehi and Nephi. Conversations cover Egyptian-script bridges, workshops that preserved records, and how Josephite-Egyptian ties shaped Nephite scripture.
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Episode notes
Northern Scribes Reshaped Jerusalem's Scripture Production
- Jerusalem c.600 BC had a large influx of northern (Manassite/Ephraimite) elites, transforming its size and creating new scribal influences.
- Noel Reynolds argues Judahite Old Testament compilation grew from this 7th-century scribal environment, not much earlier oral-only tradition.
Brass Plates As Manassite Egyptian Archives
- The brass plates in the Book of Mormon are Egyptian-language records tied to Manassite scribal tradition and rescue early scriptural reliability.
- Reynolds suggests Judahite texts may be translations/adaptations of nearer-contemporary Manassite Egyptian records.
Scribal Schools Transmitted Scripture Within Families
- Scribal schools were family-based trades that preserved writing across generations and amassed wealth and libraries.
- VanderTorn's synthesis supports the Old Testament arising from family scribal schools rather than anonymous mass oral transmission.