{"id":103365,"date":"2024-01-06T11:22:06","date_gmt":"2024-01-06T18:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=103365"},"modified":"2024-01-06T11:22:06","modified_gmt":"2024-01-06T18:22:06","slug":"but-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/01\/but-why.html","title":{"rendered":"But why?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/a>
Lincoln Hoppe as Martin Harris, in the 2021 Interpreter Foundation theatrical film, \u201cWitnesses.\u201d (Still photo by James Jordan)1`<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Here is something from more than twelve years ago that you might find helpful as you begin your \u201cCome, Follow Me\u201d study of the Book of Mormon this year: \u00a0\u201cLearn more about the Book of Mormon witnesses:\u00a0Read short biographies of each of the Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
And please take a moment to browse through these items from the Church website, as well:<\/p>\n
\u201cChurch distributes 200 millionth copy of the Book of Mormon:\u00a0\u2018What is the Book of Mormon to achieve? It is to invite people to come to Christ, be converted to Him, become His disciple, and get on and stay on the covenant path,\u2019 Elder Renlund says\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
\u201cVideo: Elder Renlund on the \u2018profound miracle\u2019 of the Book of Mormon:\u00a0\u2018It is a profound miracle in my life, that I have come to know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God,\u2019 Elder Dale G. Renlund says\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
\u201cEpisode 169: Elder Dale G. Renlund on his testimony of the Book of Mormon and the Church\u2019s distribution of 200 million copies of the sacred text: \u2018Who could have imagined going from 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon to 200 million? \u2026 It is a miracle,\u2019 says Elder Dale G. Renlund during a Church News podcast interview\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
\u201cWhat Church leaders have taught, promised and testified about the Book of Mormon: While studying the Book of Mormon for \u2018Come, Follow Me,\u2019 here are 15 quotes about the importance of this \u2018precious\u2019 book\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
\u201cHow seeing historic images of the original Book of Mormon manuscript can enhance gospel learning: Latter-day Saints can discover more about the Book of Mormon by viewing historic images of the original manuscript on the Joseph Smith Papers website\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
And these two un<\/em>official articles:<\/p>\n
\u201c5 Simple Ways You Can Be a Witness of the Book of Mormon\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
\u201cJana Riess: The Book of Mormon is \u2018amazingly coherent and consistent,\u2019 scholar says, though parts are \u2018problematic\u2019:\u00a0Grant Hardy\u2019s new annotated volume promises to enrich Latter-day Saints\u2019 yearlong study of their faith\u2019s signature scripture.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
I, for one, am excited to be beginning this new curriculum year that\u2019s focused on the Book of Mormon, and I hope that you are, as well. \u00a0So here\u2019s something with which you may not be familiar, but which I think more than a few of you might find interesting:<\/p>\n
Hugh Nibley, \u201cWorthy of Another Look: Classics from the Past: The Book of Mormon: A Minimal Statement,\u201d Journal of Book of Mormon Studies<\/em> 19\/1 (2010): 78-80)<\/a><\/p>\n
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This short article was originally published in the journal Concilium: An International Review of Theology<\/em> and as such is addressed to a non-LDS audience. Nibley begins by giving a brief historical and theological background to the Book of Mormon. He then makes the point that the Book of Mormon includes topics that leave it open to scholars in many different disciplines to study and to put on trial. Finally, he comments on the remarkable coherence with which the prophetic editors were able to compile the Book of Mormon.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a>
David Whitmer (at left) sits next to Oliver Cowdery in a scene from the 2021 Interpreter Foundation feature film \u201cWitnesses.\u201d \u00a0(Still photograph by James Jordan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n*
**
*I\u2019ve occasionally wondered how a skeptic might explain why Joseph Smith, if he really just made it all up, opted to create something like the Book of Mormon? \u00a0It seems to involve a lot more bother, a lot more complexity and effort \u2014 e.g., recruiting exceptionally credulous (and likely hallucinatory) bumpkins (or cunning and inexplicably dedicated co-conspirators) as \u201cwitnesses\u201d; possibly fabricating fake \u201cgold plates\u201d and other bogus metallic artifacts; running around while pretending to hide the plates and the other objects; writing a complex book containing approximately 270,000 words and the made-up narrative history of multiple fictional civilizations with detailed geographical references, and the like; and going through the difficult process of finding a printer for a large book, funding the book\u2019s printing, and supervising the printing.<\/p>\n
Why not just claim to have received a short revelation or two? \u00a0Much easier to write, and no complex back story to create. \u00a0\u201cThe Lord told me thus and such.\u201d \u00a0Simple. \u00a0No muss, no fuss. \u00a0After all, roughly the first twenty of the revelations canonized in the Doctrine and Covenants were received before the Book of Mormon was published in March 1830. \u00a0And Joseph already had followers by then. \u00a0Heck, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a> was formally established already on 6 April 1830, which means that the newly-published Book of Mormon could not have been the sole factor, or even the principal factor, in attracting those who made up the absolutely initial membership of the Church.<\/p>\n
<\/a>
Readying \u201cLucy Harris\u201d for a scene in the Interpreter Foundation\u2019s \u201cWitnesses\u201d film project. \u00a0(Still photo by James Jordan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n*
**
*But let\u2019s not bid each other farewell without first taking a look at something very terrible from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial \u201cHow Religion Poisons Everything\u201d File<\/em>\u2122. \u00a0Here it is:<\/p>\n
\u201cLatter-day Saints have significantly fewer student loans, according to national survey:\u00a0Efforts by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to make education more affordable appear to make an impact\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n
And here are some additional Hitchens File<\/em> horrors, published in the 2023-2024 issue of Because of You<\/em>, a publication of Philanthropies, which is a department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. \u00a0I probably receive Because of You<\/em> owing to the fact that, for a number of years, I worked to raise funds for the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) at BYU, and then for its successor organization, the pre-2012 Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. \u00a0Here are some figures from Because of You<\/em>, which, for 2022, reports<\/p>\n
3,692 humanitarian projects<\/p>\n
"
483 emergency response projects<\/p>\n
174 refugee response projects<\/p>\n
520 food security projects<\/p>\n
156 clean water projects<\/p>\n
46 childhood nutrition projects<\/p>\n
54 mobility projects<\/p>\n
45 maternal care projects<\/p>\n
42 vision care projects<\/p>\n
6 immunization projects<\/p>\n
439 education projects<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
$1.02 billion in expenditures<\/p>\n
190 countries and territories<\/p>\n
6.3 million hours of voluntary service<\/p>\n
2,629 collaborating organizations<\/p>\n
Your indignation at such appalling actions is understandable. \u00a0But please don\u2019t permit it to damage your health or to interfere with your attempts to appear sane.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 Here is something from more than twelve years ago that you might find helpful as you begin your \u201cCome, Follow Me\u201d study of the Book of Mormon this year: \u00a0\u201cLearn more about the Book of Mormon witnesses:\u00a0Read short biographies of each of the Three Witnesses and the Eight Witnesses\u201d And please take a moment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":88594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[56,918,6102,1570,313,921],"class_list":["post-103365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-book-of-mormon","tag-david-whitmer","tag-hugh-nibley","tag-martin-harris","tag-oliver-cowdery","tag-witnesses"],"yoast_head":"\nBut why?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\" Here is something from more than twelve years ago that you might find helpful as you begin 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