Many members of the latter day saint movement claim historical authenticity of the book of mormon. Scientific studies of dna, facial structure, blood types, and migration patterns have indicated that natives are of siberian origin and are. Maggie nelsons the argonauts is a genrebending memoir, a work of autotheory offering fresh, fierce, and timely thinking about desire, identity, and the limitations and possibilities of love and language. Every one of us started as believing that the book of mormon was an ancient historical document translated from gold plates, and this is where weve come, said metcalfe, a technical editor in the computer industry. The argonauts by maggie nelson goodreads share book. In addition to joseph smith, 11 official witnesses and several unofficial witnesses.
The book of mormon has been described as the bible of north america i. In short, dna studies cannot be used decisively to either affirm or reject the historical authenticity of the book of mormon. He finds plausible answers to these questions by matching specific data from reliable archaeological and anthropological studies of mesoamerica with the entire spectrum of cultural and historical information from the book of mormon. The book of mormon is the word of god, like the bible. Mormon is allegedly a prophethistorian who was the native american believed by mormons to have written the book of mormon the main religious text of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints mormonism. While the bible is written by and about the people in the land of israel and surrounding areas and takes place from the creation of the world until shortly after the death of jesus christ.
This is a remarkable ancient story that scientists have now confirmed to have been based on true events. An ancient american setting for the book of mormon. This question is asked by a marketing person, so hopefully hell understand that despite any of my points below, the show maintains a tone that all religions are silly, and benign only insomuch as they dont actually believe anything. On the heels of the supreme courts ruling last year that all states must recognize samesex marriages, nelson releases an intellectual book that examines the nuances of coupling when gender lines are blurred. Fascinating ancient legend of jason and his argonauts was. The game was a form of rugby and scoring consisted of placing the ball over the goal line a try thus allowing the attacking team a chance to kick over the uprights. This blue edition of the book of mormon includes footnotes, crossreferences, and guide to the scriptures. The book is a continuous stream of thoughts, reflections and writings by the author. The designs of the argonauts are veiled under the allegorical, or at least doubtful, phrase, of carrying off the golden fleece. Mormon archaeological argument that proves the historical accuracy of b of m.
The argonauts is a genrebending memoir, a work of autotheory offering fresh, fierce, and timely thinking about desire, identity, and the limitations and possibilities of love and language. For example, the names sariah and nephi have been found in. Jasons uncle pelias had usurped the throne of iolcos in thessaly, which rightfully belonged to jasons father, aeson. Foundation of the book of mormon series book of mormon plagiarism if ive said it once ive said it a thousand times. Clark had circumstances permitted a marked grave for the slain prophet, a fitting headstone could have read, by joseph smith, junior, author and proprietor. Volcanoes and the historicity of the book of mormon book.
If the book of mormon agrees with the new testament concerning the words and deeds of jesus, and if it adds no new words or deeds that do not have new testament parallels, then the book of mormon itself implies that the text and the theology of. Non mormon scholars dont view the book of mormon as a genuine historical record, but rather as a work of 19thcentury fiction. How accurate are the songs in the musical, the book of mormon. The list of archeological and historical claims of the book of mormon compared to nonapologetic evidence. Its a pretty straightforward text, and serves as a solid introduction to the story beyond the highly abridged versions one gets in schoolbooks. Pelias promised to surrender his kingship to jason if the. May 05, 2015 the argonauts is the ninth book by american poet, art critic, lyric essayist and nonfiction author, maggie nelson. Frankly, 3 nephi 8 of the book of mormon contains content that unequivocally supports the historicity of the book of mormon. Moroni, the last of the nephite prophethistorians, sealed up the abridged records of these people and hid them in about a. Most, but not all, mormons hold the books connection to.
The book of mormon records the visit of jesus christ to people in the americas following his resurrection. The geologists researched geological data, archaeological artifacts, myths, and historical sources surrounding the ancient georgian kingdom of colchis and found that the myth of jason and the argonauts was based on an actual voyage that took place 3,300 to 3,500 years ago to obtain the secrets of the ancient gold extraction technique used in. Therefore, the mormon can have confidence that the bible is the word of god and that it can be accurately translated. Being born and raised in an lds family in ogden, utah came with the understanding youd. An intrepid voyage out to the frontiers of the latest thinking about love, language, and family maggie nelsons. Why is the book of mormons historical authenticity so important. Mar 04, 20 the lds church has produced an update to the scriptures, following 8 years of work by historians on the joseph smith papers project you may have heard about some of the changes, as our own andrew s was the one that alerted me, but by common consent has some fantastic posts on the subject as well, to go along with allison at mormon momma. Some mormons search the web and find doubt the new york. The mormon religion was officially founded in 1830 when the book of mormon was published. Most often, a list of argonauts is taken from the argonautica by apollonius rhodius written in the 3rd century bc. Jul 04, 2011 mormons claim that the book of mormon is the most accurate, complete account of the people, culture, and events of ancient america. Jason and the argonauts, retold by neil smith and illustrated by jose daniel cabrera pena, is one of a sequence of books in a new series by osprey adventures entitled myths and legends. In respect to the argo, it was the same as the ship of noah, of which the baris of egypt was a representation.
After the book of mormon was published, mormonism began to spread and grow rapidly. The following version of this book was used for the creation of this study guide. The theory that the book of mormon is an ancient american history is not accepted as scientifically verifiable by the mainstream. However, ii nephi contains 21 chapters, word for word, from the book of isaiah king james version. This book was supposedly transcribed from buried plates which were written about 600 years before christ. The only t proof to which it can be subj ected is this. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. Gardner adds additional material and compacts the history so that a reader can get a feel for the real setting behind the book of mormon in a chronological framework. Old testament scholar thomas finley examines lds scholar hugh nibleys comparisons between the book of mormon and the lachish letters, written from the jewish town of lachish about the same time that the main book of mormon story line begins. Having therefore privately taken the measure of osiriss body, and framed a curious ark, very finely beautified and just of the size of his body, he brought it. Largely this is what nelson explores in her ninth book, the argonauts. Mormon station, mormon ravine, mormon bar, mormon island, mormon tavern, and the mormon emigration trail, while browns settlement, salt lake trading company, and rhodess diggings were operated by saints.
Excluding the bible and similar writing, can you prove to an atheist or to someone that is agnostic that god exists. It is called by plutarch the ship of osiris, who as i have mentioned, was exposed in an ark to avoid the fury of typhon. Volcanoes and the historicity of the book of mormon book of. Dont expect proof for any religion or matter of faith, but yes, there are many issues that support the concept that the book of mormon is of ancient origin and not a silly fraud by joseph smith. The belief that natives are descendents of jews was commonly accepted in the early 19th century when the book of mormon was published. The greek tale of jason and the golden fleece has been told for 3,000 years. Most, but not all, mormons hold the book s connection to ancient american history as an article of their faith.
Nonmormon scholars dont view the book of mormon as a genuine historical record, but rather as a work of 19thcentury fiction. An additional criticism of the historical authenticity of the book of mormon concerns linguistics. He incorporated much that is available in his six volume work second witness. The book has two fascinating maps with placenames which indicate the prominence of the saints at the diggings. Archaeological and historical evidence jareditesolmecs. The king james quotations in the book of mormon, the history of the text of the book of mormon. How accurate are the songs in the musical, the book of. Maggie nelsons the argonauts is a genrebending memoir, a work. Is there evidence for the authenticity of the book of mormon. Is the book of mormon really a revelation from god.
Its a classic heros quest tale a sort of ancient greek mission impossible in which the hero embarks. What do the national geographic and the smithsonian say. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand. Both books contain gods guidance as revealed to prophets, as well as religious histories of different civilizations.
As with all such gatherings in greek mythology there is no definitive list of just which greek heroes made up the crew of the argo. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints and other denominations in the lds restorationist movement have taught that native americans are descendents of three groups of ancient israelites who came to the new world. Argonaut, in greek legend, any of a band of 50 heroes who went with jason in the ship argo to fetch the golden fleece. Archaeological trends and the book of mormon origins author john e.
Jul 12, 2017 was the book of mormon a great american novel. This view finds no acceptance outside of mormonism. Archaeological trends and the book of mormon origins byu. Debunking 5 myths about the book of mormon lds living.
Could you list some of the major reasons why this would be the case. This site provides you with an overview of what the book of mormon claims from an archeological or historic viewpoint, and compares it to nonapologetic apologetic meaning speak to defend scientific and historical resources. According to the text, the nephites and the lamanites initially spoke hebrew 600 bc and might have spoken a modified semitic language until at least 400 ad, when the book of mormon ends. You cant tell a book by its cover, but you can judge its worth in my personal library by its position. The archaeological and historical evidence indicates that the ancient people that we call olmecs in our day are the same people, called the jaredites in the book of mormon. The standard of truth is the first of four books that tells the story of mormonism from 1815 to present day. In the last chapter we saw that the bible is reliable, being textually pure and verifiably accurate in many places. A challenge to origins of the book of mormon and joseph smith. Hebraisms that could have been known to joseph smith may still be authentic, and may still enhance our appreciation of the text, but they are weak evidence for book of mormon antiquity. Archaeological evidence seems to indicate that the main core or center of the jaredite civilization was located on the mexican gulf coast, in what are now the southern. If that were true, then scholars who study ancient american archeology, anthropology, culture, linguistics, etc.
The first of them derives from the myth itself, when jason and his crew carry the argo over libya north africa and cross the mythical lake tritonis. Members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church and other denominations of the latter day saint movement generally believe that the book of mormon describes ancient historical events in the americas, but historians and archaeologists do not regard it as a work of ancient american history. Historical accuracy in lds scriptures mormon heretic. What are the major challenges to book of mormon historicity. That is among the most securely established facts in latterday saint history. On the heels of the supreme courts ruling last year that all states must recognize samesex marriages, nelson releases an intellectual book that examines the nuances of. The idea has since gone out of fashion except among the mormons.
Finley shows that nibleys parallels do not support the historical authenticity of the book of mormon. Of course these inconsistencies could readily be explained by understanding the book of mormon as a work of fiction written by a nineteenth century american, but book of mormon scholars often approach the topic with the a priori acceptance of the theory that the book of mormon is an ancient text as joseph smith claimed. The lds church has produced an update to the scriptures, following 8 years of work by historians on the joseph smith papers project. A twohundredyear era of peace followed that visit of christ. Analytical and contextual commentary on the book of mormon. The book of mormon claims to be a history of ancient peoples inhabiting central america until 421 a. In the best analysis, the bible is a religious book, not an historical document. The conclusion states, much as critics and defenders of the book of mormon would like to use dna studies to support their views, the evidence is simply inconclusive.
Most, but not all, mormons hold the books connection to ancient american history as an article of their faith. The historicity of the book of mormon religious studies. T he book of mormon is advertized by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints as another testament of jesus christ and specifically of the account of his supposed visit to the american continent the book of mormon, 3 nephi 11. Mormonism is a religion less than two centuries old, but in this short time it has managed to accrue a long list of embarrassments which the church leaders would prefer were kept. You may have heard about some of the changes, as our own andrew s was the one that alerted me, but by common consent has some fantastic posts on the subject as.
Hans mattsson was once a highranking leader for the mormon church in europe. Jason was an ancient greek mythological hero who was famous for his role as the leader of the argonauts and their quest. That is, the thick darkness subplot of 3 nephi 8 is such that joseph smith could not have authored it himself while living in upstate new york in 1829, a fact that suggests he also did not author the other plots and subplots of the book of mormon. The book of mormon does indeed have authentic semitic constructions in it, but lds need to tread cautiously in establishing them. Mar 11, 2017 it was a passionate love, the kind that inspired a princess to give up everything she cared about to save a hero from a foreign land. The book of mormon is, in steinbergs view, a work of fan fiction, a way to imbue a new world with some of the sanctity of the holy land. It was a passionate love, the kind that inspired a princess to give up everything she cared about to save a hero from a foreign land.
The book of mormon and dna studies religious tolerance. Both books contain gods guidance as revealed to prophets, as well as religious histories of different. Critics challenge the viability of the population size and growth of the book of mormon people. For further reading on the bible as history, the following books may be consulted. Including the mormon churches conflicting results of computer analyses of the book of mormon. Legends connecting the argonauts to africa are ancient. Book of mormon, work accepted as holy scripture, in addition to the bible, in the church of jesus christ of latterday saints and other mormon churches. Taylor you cant tell a book by its cover, but you can judge its worth in my personal library by its position.
In this chapter we will examine the book of mormon to see how it holds up to the. Besides, historic evidence supporting the accuracy of these names still exists. The mormon church tries a more honest approach to its history. The scientific legacy of a quest to prove the book of mormon. The game was a form of rugby and scoring consisted of placing the ball over the goal line a try thus allowing the attacking team a chance to kick over the uprights a goal. They are promoting the feasibility of reading and using the book of mormon as nothing more than a pious fiction with some valuable. Archaeological science versus claims of the book of mormon. Joseph smith consistently claimed that he translated the book of mormon from a set of ancient golden plates which were delivered to him by an. Apollonius, in fact, wrote his argonautica in the context of ptolemaic egypt, and pindar composed the fourth pythian ode in honor of a north african ruler. Top 10 embarrassments of the mormon religion listverse.
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