Friday, August 21, 2009

Joseph the Seer—or Why Did He Translate With a Rock in His Hat?

From the ever erudite Brant Gardner comes this watershed article on the question of the translation process that Joseph Smith used in translating the Book of Mormon. A MUST read!

http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2009_Joseph_the_Seer.html

1 comment:

  1. This is a great article and explanation. It also sheds light on the adaptive vocabulary used in the Popol Vuh and the Title of the Lords of Totonicapan. The "pagans" who transmitted their oral and written Quiché traditions to the Catholic Conquistadores were mapping their "Little Tradition" stories to the narrative of the "Great Tradition". And, not always to score points with their new overlords.

    When you experience the Quiché culture, you find that in many cases, this adaptive language is meant as a subtle barb directed at the Conquistadores, as if to say, "You may think your traditions and our traditions have nothing in common, or that yours are somehow superior because of our supposed ignorance and poverty. Yet there are things in our stories that are too similar to yours to be considered mere coincidence...care to explain that?"

    ReplyDelete

We are happy to discuss any and every topic and question. We will give wide berth to a variety of opinions and ideas. The only thing we ask is that you return the favor by respecting our right to believe as we do and by not issuing lengthy, inflammatory diatribes meant to shock and confuse anyone not familiar with LDS teachings. They can certainly get that elsewhere. :)