Investigating the Witnesses, Official and Unofficial, to the Book of Mormon

Last updated on: September 5, 2018 at 9:52 am by Dan Peterson

Investigating the Witnesses, Official and Unofficial, to the Book of Mormon 2018-09-05T09:52:46-06:00 Dan Peterson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Oliver Cowdery
For the background of this daguerreotype, colorized by Bryce Haymond, see http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/oliver-cowdery-daguerreotype-restored-in-full-color/
(The Interpreter Foundation)

Some wish to dismiss the testimonies of the Witnesses to the Book of Mormon on the basis of the fact that Martin Harris, for example — on perhaps two or three occasions — described seeing the plates and the angel and the other artifacts with “spiritual eyes.” These skeptics assume, despite many other statements affirming the physical literality of the Witnesses’ experience, that this means that the Witnesses only “imagined” seeing the plates, the angel, the Liahona, and the rest, or that it was a hallucination or some such thing.

There’s much to be said against this view, and much that has been said. But here are a couple of relevant pieces that I just encountered tonight, from the invaluable Robert Boylan of Ireland:

“‘Spiritual Eyes’ in pre-1830 literature”

“George Lamsa on People Seeing God with ‘Spiritual Eyes'”

***

While I’m thinking about the Witnesses, let me tell you something about the progress of the film that we’re doing on that subject, and alert you to our substantial financial needs for it — which are unavoidable even though we’re making every effort to keep the costs as low as we reasonably can:

We have, thus far, interviewed a number of scholars for the film, which — I hasten to add — will be a docudrama, and not merely a succession of talking heads. Thus far, we have interviewed Susan Easton Black, Terryl Givens, the late Richard Lloyd Anderson (for which I’m very grateful!), Don Bradley, John Turner, Richard Bushman, Matthew Roper, and Ann Taves. We intend to do a number of additional interviews, but we also intend to film reenactments on location. Doing so, however, is seasonally sensitive. That is, we want to film in the spring, the early summer, and/or the fall in places like Palmyra, not in the dead of winter.

But if we’re to get such filming underway this next spring, we need to have the funding in hand, or almost entirely in hand, by about the beginning of March 2019. That’s a tall order, and we may well not pull it off in time.

If we don’t make that funding goal, completion of the film will be delayed until at least the equivalent time next year.

However, I feel passionately that this is an important film that will help — and interest — a number of people, and that there are people out there who need to see it as soon as we can possibly complete it.

(Beyond the full and complete movie that we’re working on, we also have it in mind to put the film up in shorter snippets online, as well as to post “film footage” that doesn’t ultimately fit the movie’s narrative arc but is still solid and helpful. All of our finished work will be available for use in appropriate classes in the Church Education System, too. We’re brainstorming a host of ideas for how to get the good materials that we’re capturing before the eyes of an audience that will enjoy and benefit from them.)

Quite earnestly: If you are interested in helping us to complete this effort, please join us. You can contact me via [email protected]. I would be happy to discuss the project with you personally. Or you can donate to the Interpreter Foundation via several methods described on its website:

Donate

If you wish to contribute specifically to the Witnesses project, please indicate your wish on any donation that you make.

Uncategorized

Book of Mormon

Book of Mormon Witnesses

film

Interpreter Foundation

movie

Previous Post

August 23, 2018

Odium theologicum

Next Post

August 24, 2018 Medical Marijuana in Utah?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 March 2014 August 2013 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not _____ or boast...

Select your answer to see how you score.

Fail Envy Brag Scream