Book Club

I skimmed through it – looks interesting, but maybe raises more questions, as you mentioned.

I love to learn & read. My problem is it takes me six weeks to 2 months to read the book of the month. But I wiz through Dr. Seuss!

For anyone interested, here’s a few books that are on my “to read” list. Perhaps we can get a consensus on the order–I have no particular order here.

Scattering of the Saints – John Hamer and Newell Bringhurst

David O McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism – Greg Prince

Massacre at Mountain Meadows – Richard Turley and a few others

An ancient American setting for the Book of Mormon – John L Sorenson

Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible & Why – Bart Ehrmann

Blacks & the Mormon Priesthood – Marcus Martins

Infidel – Ayaan Hirsi Ali

I better stop there–or I’ll overwhelm everyone. I own the first 4, (not that that matters). Are there any other books anyone wants to read? Anyone have a preference for order? Unless they’re short, I’m all for taking 6 weeks to read or something like that–It’s hard to bang out a 300-500 page book in a month.

Anyone else have any opinions? Shall we set a time limit of about 6 weeks and I (or someone else) can start a new thread? Would it be better to have the discussion here, or in the Book/Videos discussion board?

In case anyone wants a preview of the book, I have some photos from my recent trip to Independence. Check out http://www.mormonheretic.org/2010/05/31/after-the-mha-convention-a-very-schismatic-day-4/

While not endorsing the Malay Theory, Simon Southerton commented on my blog that “I’m not aware of any DNA evidence from South East Asia linking populations there with the Middle East. South East Asia has been heavily populated for tens of thousands of years, with large civilizations. It is possible that Jewish sailors colonized parts of Asia though.”

Argh!!! How many times do Americans have to be told, Israel is in Asia!!!

Actually there is plenty of evidence of contact between the Malay peninsula and the Middle East. Tjat’s how Islam got introduced there.

Featherina, I think there probably was a general misunderstanding of intent. It happens all the time, unfortunately.

I admire BH Roberts for expresing his view, but it’s critical to remember that he died totally committed to the BofM as a “believer” in its importance and divine inspiration and to Joseph as a prophet. That is absolutely clear from the totality of his writings about the subject, especially his later statements.

It’s also important, imo, to realize that there really is no way to know where the BofM geography was located, assuming it actually is an historical record. We just don’t have enough information to say for sure.

Finally, given the probable Asiatic origins of the Jaredites, and the probable spread of their descendants far beyond the record of the people of “the central kingdom”, it is interesting to note that the BofM itself actually might posit that the dominant ancestry of the “native Americans” is Asiatic rather than of the House of Israel. (That is my belief.)

I mean that last point seriously – and it is a badly misunderstood aspect of the BofM, imo. The book itself talks about multiple migrations that would be motivated by God, but it also describes the predominant, long-term society as having come almost surely from the steppes of Asia. Also, the record we have is of a tiny slice of those who descended from the original settlers – as evidenced by the obsession over the descendants of Jared to the exclusion of everyone else (even those who actually ruled while the “rightful heirs” were living in captivity) and the total focus on those who remained close enough to that royal line to constitute what I call the “central kindgom”.

Maybe I will write a post about the Jaredites focused solely on the lineage recorded in the Book of Jared – and the implications for population studies and DNA. Maybe not. Suffice it to say here that very few people have taken the time to look seriously at the implications of what the BofM actually presents in that section – and it has HUGE implications in multiple areas, especially DNA and population assumptions.

Featherina,

Sorry, I didn’t mean to side track the discussion. (But I did like the idea of a book club! 😆 )

Anyway, I guess my point that got lost along the way, is that we shouldn’t get too tied to one theory. I’ve done several posts on BoM geography theories. They all have strengths and weaknesses. But not only that, if we hold the Bible up to the same scrutiny, it has similar archaeological problems. For example, some people question the historicity of Moses and the Exodus. I did a post recently at http://mormonmatters.org/2010/05/16/questions-about-the-exodus/

The entire Bible prior to about Lehi/Jeremiah’s time is suspect. There is no definitive evidence for Moses, Abraham, Joseph, Noah, Adam, Eve, Samson, Ruth, Job, etc. For that matter, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John probably weren’t written by Matthew, Mark, Luke or John either. Most of the letters of Paul have questionable authorship. So anyone that says the Bible has a solid foundation in archaeology isn’t telling you everything. Sure, we know where Jerusalem, Jericho, and Samaria are, but nobody has the foggiest clue where Mt Sinai really is, or where Job actually lived, or if Adam, Eve, or Jonah were real people.

So, if you’re willing to accept the Bible as a spiritual history with all its flaws and 2000 years of research, then I think it is ok to assume the Book of Mormon is equally valid with just 200 years of research. I did a post on Nahom, Saudi Arabia, and I really need to do a post on Nephi’s harbor in Yemen. I think this 2 sites are the most compelling archaeological sites for Book of Mormon locations (even if they are in the Old World.) Here is my post on Nahom. http://www.mormonheretic.org/2009/01/28/nahom-archeaological-evidence-of-book-of-mormon/

Momonheretic,

Thanks for your apology.

Featherina, I think there probably was a general misunderstanding of intent. It happens all the time, unfortunately.

Ray, it seems that initially, you didn’t read the original post, otherwise you wouldn’t have moved this thread to the book & media reviews. I’d appreciate it if you’d move this thread back to Gospel Doctrine. They can make a new thread about book clubs. If you want, you can change the subject of this thread to “Book of Mormon book club” or “Book of Mormon issues.”