I'm in Las Vegas this weekend to give two lectures (firesides) "From Reformation to Restoration". In my lecture  I tell the story William Tyndale and the English Bible, talk about the influence of the Bible on William Shakespeare, and tell little-known stories from the life of Joseph Smith and the Restoration.

Here's a brief snippet on Shakespeare and the Bible: 

 

Shakespeare refers to 36 different books of the Bible over 1,000 times in his plays. For example, he refers to Paul's epistle to the Corinthians in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" "The eye of man hath not heard, the ear of man hath not seen...". In the "Merchant of Venice" when Portia praises the quality of mercy, she declares that mercy, "droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven/Upon the place beneath"--referring to Matthew 5:45 where God "sendeth rain to the just and on the unjust". In making these allusions, Shakespeare knows that his audience will be able to interpret them, and by so doing, will add deeper meaning to his plays.  Genius.

 

 

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This is one of my favorite finds ever--a book inscribed by Joseph Smith's mother.  After the death of Joseph Smith, the mother of Joseph Smith wrote a biography about her son--commonly known as "The History of Joseph Smith by His Mother" Lucy Mack Smith. It was finally printed in Liverpool in 1853. A few copies were bound in a special leather presentation binding for Lucy Mack Smith. When Mother Smith received these copies in Nauvoo, she inscribed one of copies to her daughter Lucy--Joseph Smith's younger sister. This is that copy. You can't get much better than this!  Go to this link to see the inscription:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/164662930100056951/

It's been a busy week--just the way I like it.  I've traveled 1,800 miles and tracked down two first edition copies of the Book of Mormon [1830].  I've added pictures of the two copies on my Pinterest page: http://www.pinterest.com/moonsrarebooks/first-edition-book-of-mormon-1830-pinterest/

My favorite Mexican Restaurants in California and Arizona...

When I travel, I'm always looking for new places to eat.  However, there are some places that I have to stop by and visit on every trip.  I frequently travel to Arizona and California on my quest for rare books.  These are the places I eat on every trip to CA and AZ.  My favorite Mexican restaurant in Arizona is "Rancho de Tia Rosa" in Mesa http://www.ranchodetiarosa.com  I usually order the following items:  green corn tamales, fish tacos, mango-chicken salad and fried ice cream for dessert.  I've tried "fried ice cream" at over 100 Mexican restaurants--and Tia Rosa's is my favorite.

When I'm in Los Angeles I prefer "El Cholo" http://www.elcholo.com  I love their "green corn tamales".  However, they're only available May-October.   When there are no "green corn tamales" I order "Annie's Early California Enchilada (a veggie enchilada with garden fresh vegetables: spinach,  red peppers, sautéed mushrooms, Jack cheese, corn and tomato salsa--and their secret ingredient: pecans.

When I'm looking for something fast I like "Señor Baja" http://www.senorbajarestaurant.com  I usually order three fish tacos and three potato tacos with a bottled Mexican soda: Jarritos Limon.

Did you know that there were five editions of the Book of Mormon printed during the life of Joseph Smith?  The final edition [1842] is by far the scarcest of the five editions--only 640 were printed--as compared to 5,000 of the first edition.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZnnOwQkRVc