Posted in Ancient Near East Book of Abraham Critics Evidence Origins Scholarship Scripture Translation

A Gift From an Early “Anti-Mormon” Attack on the Book of Abraham: Clear Evidence About the Source of Joseph’s Translation

The words of Joseph Smith give us vital evidence about the translation of the Book of Abraham. As Tim Barker demonstrates in a recent FAIR Conference, a large fraction of the characters on the papyrus fragment Joseph allegedly used to translate the Book of Abraham have been placed on Facsimile 2, and Joseph indicated that the explanations for those characters “will be given in the own due time of the Lord.” That is followed by a statement that refers to all the comments made regarding Facs. 2: “The above translation is given as far as we have any right to give at the present time.”

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Posted in Critics Doctrine gender LGBTQ Media Movies politics Social Issues

Imagine Fewer Dragons (and More Data): Initial Reactions to the Film Believer with Dan Reynolds and John Dehlin

While returning to the US for Christmas, I looked at the selection of movies on my United Airlines flight and noted that one of their many films dealt with a…

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Posted in Critics Evidence Gospel of Jesus Christ MIssionary work Scholarship The Church

Coping with the “Big List” of Attacks on the LDS Faith

One of the challenges in defending one’s faith is coping with critics who use the “Big List” technique in their attack. This involves throwing out numerous arguments to create the…

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Posted in Arabia Arabian Peninsula Book of Mormon Critics Evidence Scholarship

Noham, That’s Not History (Nor Geography, Cartography, or Logic): More on the Recent Attacks on NHM

As mentioned in my previous post about the significance of Nahom, in a recent presentation at an ex-Mormon conference, a man who says he is “addicted to truth” made the…

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Posted in Book of Mormon Critics Evidence Scholarship Science

“If Only 10% of These Charges, Are True, The Church is False” – The Fallacy of Quantity Versus Quality

In one of my first experiences in helping to teach the Gospel out here in Wisconsin, we had a new convert in our home who had been given volumes of…

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Posted in Book of Mormon Critics Evidence Scholarship

Another Scientist Takes on Southerton’s Inadequate Science

A new edition (volume 17) of FARMS Review of Books is out. There you can read an article of great value in the current DNA debates: “Missing the Boat to…

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Posted in Book of Mormon Critics DNA Evidence Science

Extinct Indian Tribe Challenges “Asia Only” Theories for Origins of Ancient Americans

In the heated controversy about DNA and the Book of Mormon, critics have insisted that science has “proven” that the origins of ancient Americans were exclusively from northern Asia via…

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Posted in Apologetics Book of Mormon Critics DNA Evidence Geography Mesoamerica Problems

Of Zelph, Lamanites, Geography, and DNA

In my opinion, the text of the Book of Mormon inherently points to a limited geographical scope for the New World events it describes. That geography is remarkably self-consistent and…

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