Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Answering Mormon Scholars Vol. 1

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Response to "Answering Mormon Scholars" (Vol. 1)



A FAIR Analysis of: Answering Mormon Scholars: A Response to Criticism of the Book "Covering Up the Black Hole in the Book of Mormon" (Vol. 1), a work by author: Jerald and Sandra Tanner

Response to claims made in "Answering Mormon Scholars" (Vol. 1) by Jerald and Sandra Tanner


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Matthew Roper, "A Black Hole That's Not So Black"

Matthew Roper,  Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, (1994)
"Since we began publishing in 1959," write Jerald and Sandra Tanner in their most recent booklet, "the LDS Church has never put forth any official rebuttal. We have waited in vain for thirty-four years for the Church itself to make a response to our work. Although a large number of people have left the Mormon Church because of our publications, and many others have been very concerned . . . Mormon leaders seem to feel that the best policy is silence. Since they apparently cannot find a way to successfully refute our allegations, they believe that the less people know about our publications the better. Consequently they have maintained a conspiracy of silence for thirty-four years while we have continued to distribute books throughout the world." While LDS scholars in the past have, in the authors' words, "followed Church leaders' advice" by ignoring them, now, faced with the imposing bogeyman of their recent book, Covering Up the Black Hole in the Book of Mormon, "Mormon scholars have suddenly [come] out like an army to attack us" (p. 1-2). According to the authors, this can only be because their revolutionary ideas "were having a significant impact upon some," nay "thousands of members of the Church" (p. 2, emphasis added). Naturally, "it was time to speak up" (p.1).

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John A. Tvedtnes, "Review of Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Answering Mormon Scholars: A Response to Criticism of the Book "Covering Up the Black Hole in the Book of Mormon""

John A. Tvedtnes,  Review of Books on the Book of Mormon, (1994)
For the record, the decision to write a review of the Tanners' Answering Mormon Scholars was my own. That decision was made because it became clear that the Tanners have misunderstood, misinterpreted, or misrepresented some of what I wrote in my review of their Covering Up the Black Hole in the Book of Mormon. The majority of my comments in this present review will deal directly with what they have said about my earlier review. For the most part, I shall let the other reviewers deal with what has been said about their work. In some cases, however, I shall add insights that might otherwise be missed and comment on the Tanners' methodology.

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