The Key to the Keystone

How Apocryphal Texts Unlock the Book of Mormon's Brass Plates

De: Jonah R. Barnes

Narrado por: Jonah R. Barnes

Over 2,000 years ago, a band of desert travelers huddled against the sandy blasts of the Arabian peninsula. They clutched in their arms a metallic book and absconded away to preserve it against the impending doom of the Babylonian invasion. This treasured text would become the source material for the Book of Mormon, one of the most influential books in American history. Though critics have tried (and spectacularly failed) to explain its origins, the Book of Mormon owes everything to this mysterious stolen text. Yet that ancient brass book wasn't the only treasure to emerge from the sands of the Near East. Years after the publication of the Book of Mormon in 1830, a cascade of newly discovered apocryphal texts would appear like voices from the dust. Using these miraculous new sources, independent researcher Jonah Barnes has used paleography and philology to reconstruct the content of Lehi's brass plates. His research will answer questions such as: Which books were on the brass plates stolen by Lehi in 597 BC? Can we read them? Who corrupted the Old Testament canon? And how badly? Who was Lucifer, and why does the Bible say so little about him? Who was Eve, and why are the Christian creeds so hard on women? Who was the prophet Abinadi? Where did he come from? How did the prophet Isaiah die? Who killed him and why? Who murdered the prophet Jeremiah? And what for? Why does the Book of Mormon sound too Messianic and not more Mosaic? Do the apocrypha support the authority of the Bible? Or do they support the Book of Mormon? Do anti-Mormons think Joseph Smith was a time-traveler? Do they think Elvis is still alive? Filled with unique parallels and scriptural insights with recently discovered apocryphal works, the The Key to the Keystone will unlock the Book of Mormon and change your view of the mission of Jesus Christ. And it might make you chuckle along the way.

©2024 Jonah R. Barnes (P)2024 Jonah R. Barnes

A fresh take with incredible insights

It's not often that you get a truly fresh take on something that you already know quite a bit about. Jonah does a fantastic job of keeping an academic topic interesting and accessible to all audiences. I don't even quite know what to say except that this was a fantastic read.

Excellent performance. Truly engaging. Never gets boring or slow.

This is one of the best commentaries on the Book of Mormon I’ve ever read. I rarely ever listen to (or read) a book twice, but I absolutely plan to do this one again. Soooooo good!

It was great information thank you and it was delivered in a wonderful way. Thank you so much.

I like the information and I like the delivery and now I have to go buy the book

A great listen with interesting surprises

I had heard the hype surround the release of this book, and since I had listened to Jonah Barnes discussing both the book and other topics on various YouTube channels, I was expecting a very interesting and informative book. I was not disappointed, and I have learned a great deal, and not just what I was expecting to learn. This book is not a boring intellectual exercise as given by some turgid-thinking ivory tower intellectual. This book is filled with interesting information presented in an interesting and frequently amusing manner. Jonah Barnes' own witty personality comes into play most effectively because he is the one reading it for us. And that is a definite plus.

The only criticism I have, and this is a minor criticism, is that whoever edited the audio could have done a better job ensuring that the read text matched the printed text. The quality of the audio tone is very good, by the way, so no problem with that, but occasionally Jonah reads a few words, realizes he just misspoke, and then repeats himself, correctly this time. But the editor didn't cut out the incorrect portion in the audio. Once in a while he reads the wrong word and doesn't catch himself. Occasionally he pauses between sentences a bit longer than he should, and the editor doesn't shorten the pause. But given the otherwise listenable quality of the book, who cares? But on another hand, if the author omits or adds a word to his book while he narrates it, perhaps that is now the "canonical" version! Which idea ironically goes along with some of the book's content. I couldn't give the "performance" part of the rating five stars, but don't let that stop you from obtaining and listening to this book.

a well done, uncomfortable book

this is a very uncomfortable book. while it is a very short listen, the author has done his research making those that believe feel validated, those that think they believe feel like they need to move make the ones that could possibly believe feel like they need to get off the fence those that don't think they believe need to take a better look and those that don't believe will have to weep and whale about more.

Must listen to title!

One of the very best books I've encountered. A brilliant writeup on the doctrines stripped from the Old Testament by the Deuteronomists that were preserved in other ancient texts. This is a must read for every member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and others interested in the doctrines of the ancient tradition.

Author's understanding of the apocrypha.

I liked the subject matter and the depth to which the author delved into the duetironinists exclusion of that material from the canon.

Fascinating insights on the liks between BoM and the apocryfas

Jonah makes a solid and convincing case in my opinion that the Bible has been tampered with. I've only read a few apocryfal texts myself. But reading ie. "The Ascension of Isiah" definitely left me with a feeling of: "What?? They killed him for prophesying about the Messiah? It feels like Something is rotten in the state of the Old Testament".
It was pretty hard to keep up with all the many references and parallels between the different old texts when listening on audio. But Jonahs dripping sarcasm makes it a worthwhile and fun ride after all...

Christ will come

That there is a source of other ancient writings that can confirm that Christ was talked about before he was born.

10 out of 10

This book is full of knowledge, good scholarship and research, and has amazing insights. Add in Mr. Barnes gently snarky sense of humor and it's the awesome-est book I've read in a while.