Podcast

Podcast: Download (20.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Dr. John Sorenson takes questions in this live radio interview that took place on July 30, 2012 on Drive Time Live with Mills Crenshaw on KTKK Radio. Dr. Sorenson first explains how he became in involved in MesoAmerican studies. He then responds to a variety of questions, including: Is there archeological evidence for the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon? What of the Native American settlements and Hebrew DNA among Native Americans in North America? What are we to make of the mention of elephants, horses, cows, oxen, etc. in the Book of Mormon? And, is there any evidence of a form of “Reformed Egyptian” writing in MesoAmerica?

John L. Sorenson is professor emeritus of anthropology at Brigham Young University. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in archaeology from BYU, a master’s degree in meteorology from the California Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of California at Los Angeles.

He originated the program in anthropology at BYU, heading it for fourteen of his twenty-four years of faculty service. His primary academic and professional emphasis was in sociocultural anthropology, including many years as an applied anthropologist. Among other positions, he served as director of social sciences at General Research Corporation in Santa Barbara, California, in the 1960s and later founded Bonneville Research Corporation in Provo, Utah. He is the author of more than 200 publications.

Despite following a variety of other professional interests throughout his career, Dr. Sorenson never lost his strong interest in Mesoamerican archaeology, the subject that first drew him to anthropology. Since his retirement from BYU in 1986, he has concentrated his research and writing in that area.

One of the key figures in the early development of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (now part of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship), Dr. Sorenson served for several years as the editor of its Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. His 1985 book An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, published by FARMS and Deseret Book, has become the most influential treatment of Book of Mormon peoples and history in their Mesoamerican context.

This recording is posted here by permission of K-Talk Radio. The opinions expressed in this interview do not necessarily represent the views of FAIR or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Podcast: Download (9.1MB)

Subscribe: RSS

In a movie entitled “The Bible vs. The Book of Mormon,” the Living Hope Ministries levels a set of common attacks against the Book of Mormon. In this episode of Religion Today that originally aired on May 29, 2011, Martin Tanner discusses various arguments against the Book of Mormon and provides responses to these criticisms.

This recording was used by permission of KSL Radio and does not necessarily represent the views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of FAIR.

Podcast: Download (16.1MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Professor Mark Alan Wright reflects on a number of Mesoamerican practices and their possible connection with the Book of Mormon, including “day-keepers,” Shamanism and divine investiture, taking the countenance of a god by wearing deity masks, and the Maya calendar system and prophecy. For Dr. Wright’s presentation on Nephite Daykeepers, see this YouTube video.

Mark Alan Wright earned his BA in Anthropology at UCLA and his MA and PhD in Anthropology (with a subfield of specialization in Mesoamerican Archaeology) from UC Riverside. His dissertation is entitled “A Study of Classic Maya Rulership.” He regularly conducts research in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize. Dr. Wright is Assistant Professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University.

This interview appears here by courtesy of the Interpreter. This views expressed in this interview do not necessarily represent the views of FAIR or of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Podcast: Download (9.1MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Why do some people claim that DNA research proves that the Book of Mormon is not historical? Are they right? In this episode of Religion Today, which originally aired on KSL Radio on August 5, 2012, Martin Tanner interviews Dr. Ugo A. Perego about what we can conclude about the ancient inhabitants of American based on DNA research and what we cannot conclude.

Dr. Perego received a BS and a MS in Health Sciences from Brigham Young University (Provo, Utah) and a PhD in Genetics and Biomolecular Sciences from the University of Pavia (Pavia, Italy) under the mentorship of Professor Antonio Torroni. During the past decade, he has given nearly 200 lectures on DNA topics relating to population migrations, ancestry, forensics, and history (including LDS history). Ugo has also authored and co-authored a number of publications, including the recent: “Joseph Smith, the Question of Polygamous Offspring, and DNA Analysis” (in Craig Foster and Newell Bringhurst’s The Persistence of Polygamy, 2010); “The Initial Peopling of the Americas: A Growing Number of Founding Mitochondrial Genomes” (in Genome Research, 2010); “The Book of Mormon and the Origins of Native Americans from a Maternally Inherited DNA Standpoint” (in Robert Millett’s No Weapon Shall Prosper, 2011); “The Mountain Meadows Massacre and “Poisoned Springs”: Scientific Testing of the More Recent, Anthrax Theory” (in International Journal of Legal Medicine, 2012); and “Rapid Coastal Spread of First Americans: Novel Insights from South America’s Southern Cone Mitochondrial Genomes” (in Genome Research, 2012).

Ugo is married to Jenna and they are the parents of four boys and a girl. They live in Rome, Italy.

This recording was used by permission of KSL Radio and does not necessarily represent the views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of FAIR.