How is Nephi’s temple building another evidence that the Book of Mormon is an ancient record?

Thomas R. Valletta

“Several studies have recently demonstrated that kings and temples were closely connected in ­antiquity … .

“Becoming a king, issuing laws or judgments, and performing many other acts of legal consequence in the ancient world were virtually unthinkable without a temple… .

“Temples were similarly prominent in the royal and legal landscapes of Nephite civilization. This invites the observation that Nephi’s construction of a temple in the city of Nephi directly paved the way for him, two verses later, to become king (see 2 Nephi 5:16–18)” (Lundquist and Welch, “Kingship and Temple,” 66).

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