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

Kerry Shirts FAIR Conference Videos

Kerry Shirts filmed a number of people at the FAIR Conference, including yours truly, in connection to a number of subjects. The most prominent subject in his interviews was about the Book of Mormon. He spoke with Scott Woodward, Brant Gardner, Daniel C. Peterson and myself concerning Book of Mormon topics. Here are the videos for your enjoyment.

P.s. for those who wish to see some notes taken on the conference presentations, head on over the Blair Hodge's "Life on Gold Plates" website.

http://www.lifeongoldplates.com/2009/08/2009-fair-conference-notes.html

And now for the videos:

*Note that the portion of Dan Peterson speaking about the Book of Mormon starts at around 4 minutes into the below video.*

FAIR Conference Pics!

These are the pics I took at the FAIR Conference. Hope you like 'em!

Kevin Barney, Blair Hodges and Mike Parker are happy for a successful conference.

Me with Greg Smith and Blair Hodges.

And now just the two.

Roger Nicholson is this year's John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award winner for his work on the FAIR wiki.

Brant Gardner with Blair Hodges

Paul McNabb, FAIR auctioneer, ruined my chances of winning a 16 volume set of the FARMS Review for way cheap. Thanks a lot Paul!

Scott Gordon with Richard Berghammer

Allen Wyatt with Scott Gordon. They are Vice-President and President of FAIR, respectively.

Matt Roper speaking with Brant Gardner and Dan Peterson at lunch.

Kerry Shirts interviews Dan Peterson for a new Youtube video.

Kevin Barney has some amazing research on a number of topics. From the scriptures to theology to LDS history, Kevin is a true renaissance man of apologetics.

Tyler Livingston, Dan Peterson, Brant Gardner and myself.

Now with Kerry Shirts.

The Three Stooges of Mormon apologetics.

Jan Anderson, Juliann Reynolds and Sharon Blackburn prove that apologetics isn't just for dudes.

Me with John Gee. Professor Gee is a walking Egyptological encyclopedia, and I greatly enjoy reading his works and speaking with him on what his new research is revealing about the Book of Abraham.

Brant Gardner takes time from writing/presenting more amazing research on the Book of Mormon to take a picture with one of his undying acolytes.

Matt Brown, the self-proclaimed indentured servant of Covenant Books, smiles with me for the camera. Anything written by this man is worth its weight in gold.

John Lynch, one of the head honchos at FAIR, smiles for the camera.

Blair Hodges, aka "Life on a Plate", is one hilarious dude. Look for his upcoming review of Shawn McCraney in the FARMS Review.*

*I would like my money now, Blair, for the shameless plug I promised.

Bob Vukich or Bob the Anti-anti-Mormon. Me and Bob go way back to debating Street Preachers at General Conference. Bob has eviscerated many of Shawn McCraney's ridiculous claims on his website.

Scott Gordon, president of FAIR, has done amazing work setting up the conference and leading FAIR into the future.

Wade Miller, who spoke at the conference, presents his new book "Science and the Book of Mormon".

Mike Ash is a cool dude, and has written two fantastic books entitled "Shaken Faith Syndrome: How to Strengthen One's Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt" and "Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith".

Matt Roper, that FARMS Pseudo-scholar, takes a minute to strike a pose with me.

Louis Midgley really isn't that bad of a guy when you get to know him. Just don't ever allow your back to be turned from him. That's when he attacks!

Louis Midgley looks as confused as always.

Craig Foster, an LDS historian and FAIR volunteer, has written some excellent works on Mormon history.

David Keller looking as enthusiastic as Greg Smith.

Greg Smith is much funnier when he speaks than when he takes pictures. Seriously dude, smiling is good for you! ;^)

Kerry Shirts with Margaret Young. Margaret recently worked on a new DVD entitled Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Considering that I am, according to some online anti-Mormons, a veritable "DCP Jr.", I like this picture a lot.

Tyler Livingston and Allen Wyatt harass conference attendees registering on the first day of the conference.

Dana Repouille shows off his pearly whites.

Tyler Livingston has filmed Brant Gardner for some FAIR videos, including the newly released DVD by FAIR "The Bible vs. the Book of Mormon: A Closer Examination".

Mike Parker was our registration guru this year.

Kerry Shirts with John Gee. These two have done excellent work defending the Book of Abraham from the critics and providing new insights into that extraordinary book of scripture.

George Cobabe is FAIR's resident Danite. Don't mess with him... or else.

David Ferguson, who just returned from his mission, adds spunk and youth to FAIR.

FAIR Conference 2009!!

It is that special time of year again when pseudo-scholarly apologist hacks gather together in Sandy, Utah to participate in the Mormon Apologetics Conference sponsored by the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research. This year there is a killer line up of scholars and LDS apologists who will be speaking on subjects ranging from the translation of the Book of Mormon, plural marriage, the Book of Abraham, the Kirtland Safety Society and the Temple. Speakers include Dr. Daniel C. Peterson, Dr. John Gee, Matthew B. Brown, Greg Smith and Brant Gardner.

This year there are several presentations on the Book of Mormon, including:

1. Brant Gardner speaking on the translation method of the Book of Mormon.

2. Wade Miller discussing what current science says about the Book of Mormon.

3. Ugo Perego on DNA and the Book of Mormon.

This conference is a wonderful opportunity for those who have questions, are struggling with dealing with anti-Mormon accusations, want to learn more about LDS apologetics or just want to have fun and hang out with a bunch of nerds. Come and meet some swell folks, including yours truly who will be taking notes and posting them here, and browse the gargantuan FAIR bookstore.

It is not too late to register for the Conference and buy your tickets. For all the information you need, see the following link:

http://www.fairlds.org/conf09a.html

Note also for those who cannot attend that the conference is being live streamed from the internet. For more information, see the link posted above.

We hope to see you there!

Linguistic Evidence for the Book of Mormon

Brian Stubbs (PhD in Near Eastern Languages, University of Utah) is a linguist who working on the development of the Uto-Aztecan and other languages. He had this to offer at the 2006 FAIR Conference. He discussed the evidence for a Semitic influence on the Uto-Aztecan language and his findings regarding his research in this field. An excellent supplement to this presentation can be found in Mike Ash's two books Shaken Faith Syndrome[1] and Of Faith and Reason[2].

Enjoy!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

[1]: Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One's Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt (Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research, 2008) pages 185-187

[2]: Of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith (Cedar Fort, Inc. 2008) page 122

Is the Book of Mormon Racist?

Book of Mormon scholar John A. Tvedtnes has written a fascinating article on the subject of the charge of "racism" in the Book of Mormon. The paper is based off of an earlier talk given at the 2003 FAIR Conference. The videos and article are listed below. In them Tvedtnes offers a very interesting treatment on this subject, which should be read by all of those who would charge the Book of Mormon as being racist.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

The Charge of Racism in the Book of Mormon by John A. Tvedtnes, published in the FARMS Review. Also see this page from FAIR for another transcript of the presentation. 

Brant Gardner on Mormon's Editorial Method

At the 2008 FAIR Conference, Brant Gardner, author of the landmark series Second Witness: Analytical & Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, delivered a speech discussing Mormon's editorial method. I would like to post the paper on the blog, as I find it not only remarkably interesting but very important in furthering Book of Mormon research. 

Mormon's Editorial Method and Meta-Message by Brant Gardner