Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Latter-day Saint
“Plural Marriage — Part 1” and a Disappointment

“Plural Marriage — Part 1” and a Disappointment

Last updated on: July 20, 2022 at 12:39 am by Dan Peterson

“Plural Marriage — Part 1” and a Disappointment 2022-07-20T00:39:36-06:00 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.

We spent a fair portion of Saturday in and about Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta. The view of Waterton Village here was taken from the Prince of Wales Hotel.
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)

A new entry in our series of short video “reels” went up on Saturday evening, Utah time, on the website of the Interpreter Foundation:

Witnesses of the Book of Mormon — Insights Episode 13: Plural Marriage – Part 1

What do we know about the practice of plural marriage in the early Church? Who was Fanny Alger?

This is the thirteenth in a series compiled from from the many interviews conducted during the course of the Witnesses film project. This series of mini-films is being released each Saturday at 7pm MDT. These additional resources are hosted by Camrey Bagley Fox, who played Emma Smith in Witnesses, as she introduces and visits with a variety of experts. These individuals answer questions or address accusations against the witnesses, also helping viewers understand the context of the times in which the witnesses lived. For more information, go to https://witnessesofthebookofmormon.org/ or watch the documentary movie Undaunted.

Short clips from this episode are also available on TikTok and Instagram.

Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/theinterpreterfoundation and our other social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

***

I notice that a few folks on the Peterson Obsession Board have taken aim at the fireside that I presented in Calgary on Thursday night. A couple of them watched it online via Zoom because . . . well, because, to a remarkably weird degree, their lives seem to revolve around Me. One of them, in particular, has taken aim at my relatively brief allusion to the work of Brian Stubbs, a respected authority on the lexicography of the Uto-Aztecan language family in the New World. You may or may not recall Brother Stubbs’s contention that the vocabulary of Uto-Aztecan appears to have been significantly influenced in ancient times by contact with Hebrew, Aramaic, and Egyptian. Even if accepted, this proposition would not, as such, be direct evidence for the Book of Mormon. But there’s no question that — again, if accepted — it would greatly enhance the Book of Mormon’s credibility.

I first called attention to Brian Stubbs’s interesting claim in an article in the Deseret News back in 2017, in which I also provided links to two favorable reviews of his work. They were written by, yes, fellow Latter-day Saint scholars — but by Latter-day Saint scholars who also happen to be superbly trained and highly reputable academic specialists on Amerindian languages:

“Near Eastern languages in ancient America?”

Please see, specifically,

“Exploring Semitic and Egyptian in Uto-Aztecan Languages,” by John S. Robertson

“Exploring the Explanatory Power of Semitic and Egyptian in Uto-Aztecan,” by Dirk Elzinga

Purporting to refute what I said on Thursday night, this fellow cites a review that, he claims, has proven Brian Stubbs wrong. No surprise, though, and true to form, he ignores the two favorable reviews mentioned above and he also ignores the fact that the supposedly devastating and irrefutable review to which he points has, itself, been forcefully challenged:

“An American Indian Language Family with Middle Eastern Loanwords: Responding to A Recent Critique,” by John S. Robertson

Abstract: In 2015 Brian Stubbs published a landmark book, demonstrating that Uto-Aztecan, an American Indian language family, contains a vast number of Northwest Semitic and Egyptian loanwords spoken in the first millennium bc. Unlike other similar claims — absurd, eccentric, and without substance — Stubbs’s book is a serious, linguistically based study that deserves serious consideration. In the scholarly world, any claim of Old World influence in the New World languages is met with critical, often hostile skepticism. This essay is written in response to one such criticism.

People cannot trust Latter-day Saint apologists, he says, because they only read one-sidedly and because they present information in a skewed and fatally-flawed manner that (in my phrasing, not his) misrepresents the state of the discussion on the issues about which they write and speak, failing to mention contrary views and flat-out refutations. My brief mention of the work of Brian Stubbs, he suggests, is an example of such misbehavior and, by implication, I am a parade exemplar of such disreputable antics. (I honestly don’t think that he’s trying to prank his friends on the Obsession Board. I’m reasonably certain that he’s serious.)

I’m happy for the opportunity to mention the work of Brian Stubbs yet again. I regard it is potentially very important, not only for Latter-day Saints but for anybody who is interested in the history of Pre-Columbian America. As with all scholarship of any actual interest, there will be discussion and even controversy. That’s to be welcomed. It’s how our understanding advances. But I’m talking, of course, about serious discussion. I welcome serious discussion. Unserious discussion, however, advances nothing of any value.

***

And here are a couple of reflective pieces about the images that have begun to be delivered by NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope. Both of them are by people with whom I’ve been blessed to have some degree of personal contact:

“Latest space images confirm Enlightenment scholar’s theory about galaxies, Harvard prof says”

“Vatican astronomer praises beauty and potential of Webb space photos: Commenting on the newest pictures of the James Webb Space Telescope, Brother Guy Consolmagno also reflected on the rich history of Catholic scientists who have studied the stars.”

Guy Consolmagno S.J., the official Vatican astronomer, participated in an Interpreter Foundation conference some years ago, at which he delivered thoughtful and powerful remarks that are still available on the Interpreter Foundation website and that I commend to your attention:

“Brother Guy Consolmagno SJ – Keynote Address: Astronomy, God, and the Search for Elegance”

***

We need to close, though, with some appalling depravities committed in the name of religion. They come from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial “How Religion Poisons Everything” File©, and they will — this is fair warning — make your skin crawl:

“Helping a Fiji Village Feed Its Families: Partnership between two charitable agencies is creating food security”

Posted from somewhere between Cardston, Alberta, and Waterton Lakes National Park

Book of Mormon Witnesses

Brian Stubbs

Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens Memorial "How Religion Poisons Everything" File

James Webb Space Telescope

Undaunted: Witnesses of the Book of Mormon

Witnesses of the Book of Mormon

Witnesses website

Previous Post

July 16, 2022

Out under the sky in southern Alberta

Next Post

July 18, 2022 I hope that I did some good (or, at least, no harm)

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

According to Jesus, what defiles a person?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Money What comes out of the heart Food eaten Clothing