FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Book of Mormon/Archaeology/Thomas Stuart Ferguson/Further Reading
<onlyinclude>
Further reading
Further reading
FairMormon Answers articles
Mormonism and science
Jump to Subtopic:
- Mormonism and the determination of truth
- The Mormon view of the creation of the earth
- Latter-day Saint approaches to science
- Astronomy and the Book of Abraham
- Archaeology and the Book of Mormon
- The Book of Mormon and DNA evidence
- Latter-day Saint attitudes toward science
- Mormonism and science/Global or local flood
- Intelligent life on other worlds
Mormonism and the determination of truth
Jump to Subtopic:
- Are Mormonism and science compatible?
- The "burning in the bosom" in Mormonism as a method of determining truth
Latter-day Saint approaches to science
Jump to Subtopic:
- Archaeology and the Book of Mormon
- The Book of Mormon and DNA evidence
- Mormonism and the reconciliation of the Flood of Noah with scripture and Church teachings
FAIR Answers—back to home page
Latter-day Saints and the Bible |
|
Reliability of the Bible |
|
Understanding the Bible |
|
The Bible and the Book of Mormon |
|
Book of Mormon/Archaeology/Thomas Stuart Ferguson/Further Reading
The Mormon view of "Creatio ex nihilo"
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: How did the mainstream Christian view that God created the universe out of nothing originate?
- Question: What were the early Christian beliefs about the creation?
- Question: How was the doctrine of creation altered to "creatio ex nihilo"?
- Question: Does Colossians 1:16 teach that Jesus created all things out of nothing?
- Question: Does what Joseph Smith taught about the creation of spirits contradict the scriptures?
- LDS doctrine rejects Neo-Plantonic accretions, but this does not make them automatically false
- Mormons and creatio ex nihilo (creation out of nothing)
- "Smith would have held his own in debating with" Neo-Platonists, Gnostics, and early Christian theologians
- Augustine's views about matter are perhaps less coherent than Joseph Smith's
- Non-LDS Christian Stephen H. Webb: Creedal Christians can learn from LDS views about Jesus Christ and creation
- Joseph Smith's theology is not pagan—his theology is vast as the multiverse, and eliminates Neo-Platonism and Augustine
Doctrine & Covenants 77:6 refers to "this earth during the seven thousand years of its continuance"
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: How do we reconcile the actual age of the earth to the "seven thousand years of its continuance" mentioned in D&C 77:6?
- Brigham Young (1871): "whether the Lord...made it in six days or in as many millions of years, is and will remain a matter of speculation in the minds of men unless he give revelation on the subject"
- John S. Lewis: "Considering that Doctrine and Covenants 77:6 refers to “…this earth during the seven thousand years of its continuance, or its temporal existence,” what led Phelps to speak of Earth as 2,555 million years old?"
- Improvement Era 1909 regards an ancient earth as consistent with scripture
- John A. Widtsoe in Improvement Era 1909 on the age of the earth
- Charles W. Penrose in Improvement Era 1909 on the age of the earth
- James E. Talmage, a geologist, spoke of the earth forming from other bodies
- Question: Was Brigham Young a "young earth creationist"?
- Question: How do dinosaurs fit into God's plan?
Mormonism and the theory of evolution
Jump to Subtopic:
Belief in a literal Adam and Eve
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Can Latter-day Saints have a non-literal view of the creation story, or have a somewhat more mythic view of the first five books of Moses given the Church's teaching of a historical Adam?
- Question: What is the Church's position on Adam and Eve?
- First Presidency statement (1931): "Leave geology, biology, archaeology and anthropology, no one of which has to do with the salvation of the souls of mankind, to scientific research"
- Question: How does the Church explain the existence of human-like beings on the earth prior to Adam?
Mormon perspectives on the concept of death on the entire earth before the Fall of Adam
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: What does the Church teach on the subject of death before the Fall of Adam?
- Question: Was there no death on the entire earth before the Fall?
- Question: What was the state of things on the Earth prior to the placement of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden?
- Question: What changes have been made to the Gospel Principles manual regarding the question of death on the earth before the Fall of Adam?
- Question: Is the concept of no death before the fall on the entire earth Church doctrine?
- Question: Did procreation exist before the Fall of Adam?
- Question: How does the Church explain the existence of human-like beings on the earth prior to Adam?
- First Presidency statement (1931): "Leave geology, biology, archaeology and anthropology, no one of which has to do with the salvation of the souls of mankind, to scientific research"
Fall of Adam and Eve
Summary: If it was God's plan for Eve to eat the fruit, then why did God forbid it? Why did God not simply create Adam and Eve as mortals?
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: If God intended the Fall of Adam and Eve, why did he forbid the fruit? Why did he not simply create them as mortals?
- Question: If "the wages of sin is death" as described in Romans 6:23, and the fall of Adam and Eve was a transgression rather than a sin, then why did it introduce death into the world?
- Question: How did the transgression of Adam and Eve introduce sin into the world?
- Question: If the transgression of Adam and Eve was actually a blessing for them, then why did they feel guilty and afraid when God approached them in the Garden of Eden after they committed their transgression?
- Question: If the transgression of Adam and Eve resulted in physical and spiritual death, then why are we only subject to spiritual death for eternity if we do not repent?
Astronomy and the Book of Abraham
Summary: The Book of Abraham makes several references to astronomy which draw criticism. These articles address specific issues related to Book of Abraham astronomical concepts.
Jump to Subtopic:
Book of Mormon/Archaeology/Thomas Stuart Ferguson/Further Reading
Latter-day Saint attitudes toward science
Jump to Subtopic:
- Joseph Fielding Smith's statements that men would never walk on the moon
- Brigham Young's beliefs related to science and education
- Mormonism and education: Modern perspectives
- Utah statistical claims and charges
Joseph Fielding Smith's statements that men would never walk on the moon
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Did Joseph Fielding Smith state that man would never visit the moon?
- Question: Was Joseph Fielding Smith issuing a prophecy when he said that men would never walk on the moon?
- Question: Did Joseph Fielding Smith acknowledge that he was wrong when he said that Man would never walk on the Moon?
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Did Brigham Young actually teach that the sun and the moon were inhabited?
- Question: Did Brigham Young claim that too much education was damaging to children?
Mormonism and education: Modern perspectives
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Does increasing education among Mormons lead to decreased faith or religious practice?
- Question: Does the Church forbid the reading of "anti-Mormon" criticisms, or discourage its members from considering such matters?
Utah statistical claims and charges
Summary: This page indexes attacks and criticism of the Church based upon statistical analysis.
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Why does Utah lead the United States in subscriptions to online adult entertainment?
- Question: Is the fact that Salt Lake City has many plastic surgeons indicative of Mormon vanity and concern with appearance?
- Question: Is it true that Utah has the highest personal bankruptcy rate in the United States?
- Question: Is the suicide rate in Utah higher than the national average?
- Question: Is the rate of antidepressant use in Utah much higher among Mormons than the general population?
- Question: In Utah, are more people leaving the Church than are joining the Church?
Mormonism and science/Nature of Flood
Intelligent life on other worlds
FAIR Answers—back to home page
Book of Mormon/Archaeology/Thomas Stuart Ferguson/Further Reading
Latter-day Saints believe that there are other worlds in the universe on which intelligent life exists. Further, this intelligent life looks like us. However, there are no teachings on whether or not this intelligent life has visited earth in spaceships.
The Lord told Moses, "Worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten. . . . For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man. . . . And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words."[1]
From these verses we learn that God has created many worlds, some of which have "passed away" and some of which "now stand." These worlds are referred to as an earth with heavens, which is the exact phrasing God applies to Earth.[2] We learn from the prophet Enoch that these other worlds are like Earth: "Were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations."[3] We learn from Joseph Smith that these other worlds have inhabitants.[4] We also learn from Joseph that these inhabitants are begotten sons and daughters unto God.[5]
As summarized by President Joseph Fielding Smith, "We know that our Heavenly Father is a glorified, exalted personage who has all power, all might, and all dominion, and that he knows all things. We testify that he, through his Only Begotten Son, is the Creator of this earth and of worlds without number, all of which are peopled by his spirit children."[6] As Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught, "How many planets are there in the universe with people on them? We don’t know, but we are not alone in the universe! God is not the God of only one planet!"[7]
Astronomy research continues to advance in identifying habitable worlds. Scientist and Latter-day Saint Jani Radebaugh noted:
New details about [astronomical] bodies in the outer solar system . . . have helped open our minds to the possibilities of other worlds with life in our galaxy and in the universe. . . . Recently, the National Academy of Sciences came out with a report that suggested that there might be as many as nine billion habitable planets in our own galaxy alone. Another way of saying this is that there are more habitable planets in our galaxy than there are people on Earth. (Of course, this doesn't mean they're actually inhabited, only that they're habitable.) As Latter-day Saints, this should not surprise us too much. We should be able to look at these big numbers and say, "Well, we should have seen this coming because God already told us there were inhabited worlds without number" (see D&C 76:24; Moses 1:33).[8]
However, the extent of our knowledge about intelligent life on other worlds is that such life exists. Elder Neal A. Maxwell noted, "We do not know where or how many other inhabited planets there are, even though we appear to be alone in our own solar system. As to the Lord's continuing role amid His vast creations, so little has been revealed."[9]
Notes
- ↑ Moses 1:33, 35, 38.
- ↑ Moses 1:35–36.
- ↑ Moses 7:30.
- ↑ Doctrine and Covenants 88:42–47, 61.
- ↑ Doctrine and Covenants 76:24.
- ↑ Joseph Fielding Smith, "Out of the Darkness," April 1971 general conference.
- ↑ Neal A. Maxwell, in "Special Witnesses of Christ," Ensign, April 2001.
- ↑ Jani Radebaugh, "The Outer Solar System: A Window to the Creative Breadth of Divinity," in Science and Mormonism 1: Cosmos, Earth, and Man, ed. David H. Bailey, et al. (The Interpreter Foundation and Eborn Books, 2016), 314.
- ↑ Neal A. Maxwell, "Our Creator's Cosmos," address given at the Church Educational System annual conference, 13 August 2002, in Sarah Jane Weaver, "‘Our Creator’s Cosmos’ — vast, personal," Church News, 17 August 2002.
FairMormon web site
- FairMormon Topical Guide: Archaeology and the Bible FairMormon link
- FairMormon Topical Guide: Book of Mormon geography FairMormon link
- Brant Gardner, "Behind the Mask, Behind the Curtain: Uncovering the Illusion (Review of: The Bible vs. the Book of Mormon)," FARMS Review 17/2 (2005): 144–196. off-site FAIR link; originally available on FAIR link
External links
Book of Mormon archaeology articles |
- William J. Adams Jr., "Synagogues in the Book of Mormon," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9/1 (2000). [4–13] link
- Anonymous, "Book of Mormon Archaeology," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8/1 (1999). [19–19] link
- Warren P. Aston, "Newly Found Altars from Nahom," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 10/2 (2001). [56–61] link
- David E. Bokovoy, "The Bible vs. the Book of Mormon: Still Losing the Battle: Review of The Bible vs. the Book of Mormon by Joel P. Kramer and Scott R. Johnson," FARMS Review 18/1 (2006): 3–19. off-site wiki off-site
- Stewart W. Brewer, "'The History of an Idea: The Scene on Stela 5 from Izapa, Mexico, as a Representation of Lehi's Vision of the Tree of Life'," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8/1 (1999). [12–21] link
- Jeffrey R. Chadwick, "Has the Seal of Mulek Been Found?," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 12/2 (2003). [72–83] link
- John E. Clark, "Archaeology and Cumorah Questions," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 13/1 (2004). [144–151] link mp3 offsite
- John E. Clark, "'Archaeology, Relics, and Book of Mormon Belief'," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14/2 (2005). [38–49] link
- John E. Clark, "Looking for Artifacts at New York's Hill Cumorah," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14/2 (2005). [50–51] link
- John E. Clark, "A New Artistic Rendering of Izapa Stela 5: A Step toward Improved Interpretation," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8/1 (1999). [22–33] link
- John E. Clark, "Searching for Book of Mormon Lands in Middle America (Review of: Sacred Sites: Searching for Book of Mormon Lands)," FARMS Review 16/2 (2004): 1–54. off-site
- Allen J. Christenson, "The Sacred Tree of the Ancient Maya," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 6/1 (1997). [1–23] link
- Brant Gardner, "The Other Stuff: Reading the Book of Mormon for Cultural Information (Review of: Nephite Culture and Society: Selected Papers)," FARMS Review of Books 13/2 (2001): 21–52. off-site
- Brant Gardner, “A Social History of the Early Nephites,” FAIR Conference presentation (August 2001). FAIR link
- Brant A. Gardner, "Too Good To Be True: Questionable Archaeology and the Book of Mormon," (Mesa, Arizona: FAIR, September 2002). FAIR link
- John Gee, "New and Old Light on Shawabtis from Mesoamerica," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 6/1 (1997). [64–69] link
- William J. Hamblin, "Basic Methodological Problems with the Anti-Mormon Approach to the Geography and Archaeology of the Book of Mormon," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 2/1 (1993). [161–197] link (Key source)
- William J. Hamblin, "Review of Archaeology and the Book of Mormon by Jerald and Sandra Tanner," FARMS Review of Books 5/1 (1993): 250–272. off-site
- William J. Hamblin, "Review of Explorers of Pre-Columbian America?: The Diffusionist-Inventionist Controversy;Legend and Lore of the Americas before 1492: An Encyclopedia of Visitors, Explorers, and Immigrants by Eugene R. Fingerhut & Ronald H. Fritze," FARMS Review of Books 7/1 (1995): 120–122. off-site
- V. Garth Norman, "Review of Angular Chronology: The Precolumbian Dating of Ancient America by Michael M. Hobby, June M. Hobby, and Troy J. Smith," FARMS Review of Books 8/1 (1996): 112–117. off-site
- Matthew Roper, "On Cynics and Swords (Review of Of Cities and Swords: The Impossible Task of Mormon Apologetics)," FARMS Review of Books 9/1 (1997): 146–158. off-site
- Matthew Roper, "Swords and 'Cimeters' in the Book of Mormon," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8/1 (1999). [34–43] link
- Cherry B. Silver, "Connecting the Nephite Story to Mesoamerican Research (Review of: Images of Ancient America: Visualizing Book of Mormon Life)," FARMS Review of Books 12/1 (2000): 23–34. off-site
- John L. Sorenson, "Ancient Voyages Across the Ocean to America: From 'Impossible' to 'Certain'," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14/1 (2005). [4–17] link
- John L. Sorenson and Matthew Roper, "Before DNA," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 12/1 (2003). [6–23] link
- John L. Sorenson, "Last-Ditch Warfare in Ancient Mesoamerica Recalls the Book of Mormon," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9/2 (2000). [44–53] link
- John L. Sorenson, "Review of Fantastic Archaeology: The Wild Side of North American Prehistory by Stephen Williams," FARMS Review of Books 4/1 (1992): 254–257. off-site
- John L. Sorenson, "Viva Zapato! Hurray for the Shoe! (Review of "Does the Shoe Fit? A Critique of the Limited Tehuantepec Geography" by Deanne G. Matheny)," FARMS Review of Books 6/1 (1994): 297–361. off-site
- Brian D. Stubbs, "Looking Over vs. Overlooking: Native American Languages: Let's Void the Void," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 5/1 (1996). [1–49] link
- Terrence L. Szink, "Jerusalem in Lehi's Day(Review of: Glimpses of Lehi's Jerusalem)," FARMS Review 16/2 (2004): 149–160. off-site
- John A. Tvedtnes, "Can Early Chinese Maritime Expeditions Shed Light on Lehi’s Voyage to the New World? (Review of: 1421, the Year China Discovered America)," FARMS Review 16/1 (2004): 427–428. off-site
- John A. Tvedtnes, “Historic archeology and the Geographic Imperative,” FAIR (2005). FAIR link
- John A. Tvedtnes, "Jewish Seafaring and the Book of Mormon (Review of The Children of Noah: Jewish Seafaring and the Book of Mormon)," FARMS Review of Books 10/2 (1998): 147–155. off-site
- Bruce W. Warren, "Review of Angular Chronology: The Precolumbian Dating of Ancient America by Michael M. Hobby, June M. Hobby, and Troy J. Smith," FARMS Review of Books 8/1 (1996): 118–121. off-site
- Diane E. Wirth, "Review of Images of Ancient America: Visualizing Book of Mormon Life," FARMS Review of Books 11/1 (1999): 10–17. off-site
- Diane E. Wirth, "'Quetzalcoatl, the Maya Maize God, and Jesus Christ'," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 11/1 (2002). [4–15] link
- Diane E. Wirth, "Review of Fantastic Archaeology: The Wild Side of North American Prehistory by Stephen Williams," FARMS Review of Books 4/1 (1992): 251–253. off-site
Printed material
Book of Mormon archaeology printed works |
- Warren P. Aston and Michaela Knoth Aston, In the Footsteps of Lehi: New Evidence for Lehi's Journey across Arabia to Bountiful (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1994), 1. ISBN 0875798470
- John E. Clark, "Archaeological Trends and the Book of Mormon Origins," Brigham Young University Studies 44 no. 4 (2005), 83–104.
- Eugene England, "Through the Arabian Desert to a Bountiful Land: Could Joseph Smith Have Known the Way?," in Book of Mormon Authorship: New Light on Ancient Origins, edited by Noel B. Reynolds and Charles D. Tate (eds.), (Provo, Utah : Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University ; Salt Lake City, Utah : Distributed by Bookcraft, 1996 [1982]),143–154. ISBN 0884944697 GospeLink (requires subscrip.) GL direct link
- Alan Goff, "Mourning, Consolation, and Repentance at Nahom," in Rediscovering the Book of Mormon, edited by John L. Sorenson and Melvin J. Thorne (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Co.; Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1991), 92–99. GL direct link
- John L. Sorenson, An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Co. ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1996 [1985]), 1.
- John L. Sorenson, "The Book of Mormon as a Mesoamerican codex," in Newsletter and Proceedings of the Society for Early Historic Archaeology No. 139: (Provo, UT, 1976): 1–9.
- John L. Sorenson, "The Book of Mormon as a Mesoamerican record," in Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited: The Evidence for Ancient Origins, edited by Noel B. Reynolds, (Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1997),391–521. ISBN 093489325X ISBN 0934893187 ISBN 0884944697. off-site GL direct link
- John L. Sorenson, "Fortifications in the Book of Mormon account compared with Mesoamerican fortifications," in Ricks and Hamblin, eds., Warfare in the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1990), 425–444.
- John L. Sorenson, "How could Joseph Smith write so accurately about ancient American civilization?," in Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon, edited by Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and John W. Welch, (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 2002), 261–306.
- John L. Sorenson, Images of Ancient America: Visualizing Book of Mormon Life (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1998), 1. ISBN 0934893284 (Key source)
- John L. Sorenson, "The political economy of the Nephites," in Nephite Culture and Society: Collected Papers, edited by M.L. Sorenson, (Salt Lake City, Utah: New Sage Books, 1997), 195–226. ISBN 1890902012. ISBN 978-1890902018.
- John L. Sorenson, "Seasons of war, seasons of peace in the Book of Mormon," in Rediscovering the Book of Mormon, edited by John L. Sorenson and Melvin J. Thorne (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Co.; Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1991), 249–255.
- John L. Sorenson, "The significance of an apparent relationship between the ancient Near East and Mesoamerica," in C. L. Riley et al. (editors), Man across the Sea: Problems of Pre-Columbian Contacts (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1971), 219–241.
- John W. Welch, "Lehi's Trail and Nahom Revisited,," in Reexploring the Book of Mormon, edited by John W. Welch (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1992), 47–49. GL direct link
- Diane E. Wirth, Parallels: Mesoamerican and Ancient Middle Eastern Traditions (St. George UT: Stonecliff, 2003). ISBN 0960209603. 978-0960209606.