The Key to the Keystone

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

By: Jonah R. Barnes

Narrated by: 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

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.

Bugs need the be fixed

It is very good, however one chapter just ends mid sentence and in this format we don't have access to the qr code for the extra content.

Thank you for this research! Wow.

What an amazing perspective to bring forth! I hope more people really dig into these connections and even more can be uncovered and brought to light! The world needs the words of the prophets and to more fully understand Gods works among the children of men through time.

Wow

It all comes together now. It’s unfortunate that many LDS’s will not take the time to read or listen to this work. I believe if they did their testimony of the BoM would grow exponentially!

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.

love it

grate story teller, funny and pack with knowledge. I will recommend to everyone.
it straightened my testimony

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.

Blew my mind

This book does an amazing job shedding light on the reasons for the flawed bible we have today and how the Book of Mormon fulfills the restoration of plain and precious truths which have been redacted from the Bible. Funny narration for a serious text. We enjoyed this one very much.

Jonah makes scriptures exciting!

Driving 4 hours each way to and from girls camp, you can imagine how excited 4 YW were when they discovered we’d be listening to an audiobook about the Book of Mormon. Their parents may have been concerned that I’d fall asleep and drive off the road. Luckily for everyone, The Key to the Keystone read by the author, is a great listen! Jonah puts so much passion and wit into what could have been a very dry topic. Many times I heard myself say, “wow, that’s so cool”. He really shifts the paradigm in my mind from feeling the need to defend the BofM, to defending the OT (Old Testament, not Original Trilogy) as now exists, from the truths revealed in the BoM, and supported by obscure apocryphal texts. The YW slept but I was awake and alert and loved this book. Thanks Jonah!