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Versio 11. syyskuuta 2010 kello 06.52

Mormoin kirja/Historiallisuus

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FAIR: Myöhempien aikojen Pyhien Jeesuksen Kristuksen Kirkon puolustusta vuodesta 1997. Tämän sivun perusta on vastaus usein FAIin sisustolle esitettyyn kysymykseen tai usein esitettyyn kysymykseen.

Kysymys

Viimeaikoina on ollut yhä enenevää erimielisyyttä eri akateemikkojen kesken Mormonin kirjan historiallisten totuuksien paikkanas pitävyydestä. Se mitä Mormonin kirjan kertoo uuden maailman historiasta on yritetty "todistaa" mahdottomaksi. Minulla on jopa joitakin MAP kirkon jäseniä ystävänä, joiden usko on horjunut siksi että Mormonin kirja ei ehkä olekkaan kirjaimellisesti totta kaikessa.

Ja nyt kysymys: Onko sillä oikeastaan väliä? Onko kirkolla todellakin jokin oppi joka käskee jäseniä uskomaan kirjaimellisesti Mormonin kirjan joka sanaan? Toiset uskonnot, kuten olen ymmärtänyt antavat jäsenilleen mahdollisuuden, mm Aadamin ja Eevan luomiskertomuksessa uskoa sen olleen metaforistinen tapa selittää luomisen korkeampaa totuutta, tarvitsematta uskoa asiaa kirjaimellisesti.

Katso myös: Kritisismin lähteet Answer

There is a fundamental difference between the Bible and the Book of Mormon that influences how we look at this issue. The Bible is a religious library that comes from many different sources, many different places and times. So you might disagree with a literal understanding of the portrayal of the creation from Genesis, but you might accept other events as reported in the Bible, such as the Assyrian conquest or the Babylonian captivity. In the case of the Book of Mormon, it all funnels through Joseph Smith, so if it is simply Joseph's creation, then none of it is historical.

Beyond this, the same issues are shared between the Book of Mormon and the Bible. The Book of Mormon discusses in places the process by which it was compiled. Some parts of the text (those books found at the beginning of the published Book of Mormon) claim to have been written by their authors without editing or copying by others. Other portions claim to be compilations of earlier sources and records, often hundreds and even thousands of years after the original accounts had been written. Some of these are not just compilations, but translations of earlier records. In this fashion, the Book of Mormon is no different than the Bible, and when taken as a literary text, can be viewed and read with the same kinds of literary criticism to which the Bible is exposed. Parts of the text of the Book of Mormon can be viewed as more literally accurate than other parts. To use the example from the question, the Book of Mormon, like the Bible, discusses Adam and Eve. Members who feel that the Adam and Eve narrative is more metaphorical as it is portrayed in the Bible will probably also approach the text of the Book of Mormon in the same fashion.

Does that ultimately matter? Some people have tried to make the case that historicity doesn’t matter at all, analogizing for instance to the parables of Jesus. Of course, the parables were put forward as parables, not as actual history, so that analogy breaks down pretty quickly.

Most Latter-day Saints have taken the view that the power of the message of the Book of Mormon would be lost if it were not in fact an historical document. If it is just a long, ahistorical allegory, then its influence would be severely truncated. If the Book of Mormon isn't what it claims to be, then we may as well close up shop and go home.

The Lord went to extreme lengths to show the Book of Mormon was indeed historical. In his first written account of Moroni's visits, Joseph said as clearly as he possibly could that

   an angel of the Lord came and stood before me and...revealed unto me that in the town of Manchester Ontario County N.Y. there was plates of gold upon which there was engravings which was engraven by Maroni & his fathers the servants of the living God in ancient days and deposited by the commandments of God and kept by the power thereof and that I should go and get them. 

This is the foundation of the Restoration, important enough that the Lord called eleven witnesses of the plates, with "historicity" being a key element of their testimonies. Considering the fact that three of the standard works proclaim the Book of Mormon to be historical, this can hardly be considered a side issue. Some would argue that denying the historicity of the Book of Mormon is denying a fundamental doctrine of the Church.

LDS members may disagree in the details. Some may well believe that certain narratives are present to serve a rhetorical purpose and were not intended to portray a literal and completely accurate historical presentation. And usually, differences in opinion at this level have little impact (if any at all) on a person's membership and ability to function at any level within the Church.

If someone comes to the conclusion that the Book of Mormon is not historical at all, is there a place for him in the Church? Probably. We cast a very broad net. That person cannot go around teaching his heterodox views on the subject, but if he is willing to keep them to himself, he can be a contributing, active member of the Church, simply bracketing the historicity issue. Further reading FAIR wiki articles

   * Book of Mormon and DNA evidence
   * Book of Mormon "anachronisms"
   * Book of Mormon witnesses 

Template:BofM_authorship_theories Book of Mormon authorship theories

   * Authorship theories (Summary article)
         o Automatic writing
         o Clumsy or amateurish
         o Epilepsy
         o View of the Hebrews
         o Sidney Rigdon
         o Spalding manuscript
               + Difficult for critics to explain before Spalding? 
         o The Golden Pot
         o Joseph Smith
               + Joseph Smith the obvious author
               + Joseph Smith obviously not the author
               + Joseph Smith as "author and proprietor"
               + Joseph Smith, Sr.'s dream and Lehi's vision 
         o Seer stones, use of
         o Wordprint studies
               + Stanford word print study (off-site link) 

Template:BoMPlagiarismWiki Book of Mormon plagiarism accusations—wiki articles

   * Plagiarism accusations (Summary article)
         o Alexander Campbell  [needs work]
         o Apocrypha
         o The Golden Pot
         o The King James Bible
         o Shakespeare
         o The Spalding manuscript
         o View of the Hebrews
               + Analysis of Isaiah use in View of Hebrews
               + "Unparallels" 
         o The Westminster Confession
         o The Wonders of Nature and Providence Displayed by Josiah Priest
         o North American place names
         o The Comoros Islands and Moroni 

Template:BoMGeographyWiki Book of Mormon Geography

   * Book of Mormon geography
         o All proposed Book of Mormon geographies in table form
         o No official geography
         o Statements made by LDS leaders
               + Joseph Smith statements about geography
               + Office of the First Presidency Letter 

Models and settings

   * Old World
         o Nahom
         o Lehi's cave 
   * New World
         o New World geography models in table form
         o Hemispheric geography theory (HGT)
         o Limited geography theory (LGT)
               + Mesoamerica
                     # Ammon at waters of Sebus [needs work]
                     # Maya and Olmec as Book of Mormon peoples?
                     # Plates to New York 
               + Great Lakes geography?
                     # Vernal Holley (1983) geography
                     # "Heartland" (Meldrum, 2003) model
                           * Burrows Cave  [needs work]
                           * Haplogroup X2a?
                           * Michigan artifacts  [needs work] 

Nineteenth century issues

   * Borders of the Lamanites
   * "Continents" in Joseph Smith's era
   * Lamanites in the Doctrine and Covenants
   * Joseph Smith statements about geography
   * Book of Mormon and the Mound Builders
   * Place names from Joseph's environment?
         o Comoros Islands and Moroni 
   * Zarahemla near Nauvoo, Illinois?
   * Zelph
   * Zion: location of Zion 

Modern issues

   * Archaeology, the Bible, and Book of Mormon
   * DNA and geographic issues
         o Haplogroup X2a? 
   * Demographics and Population sizes
         o Book of Mormon tribal affiliation 
   * "Disdaining" or "dismissing" Joseph's views?
   * Historicity of Book of Mormon 

FAIR web site

   * FAIR Topical Guide: Environmental influences FAIR link
   * FAIR Topical Guide: Textual issues FAIR link
   * Brant A. Gardner, "The Case for Historicity: Discerning the Book of Mormon's Production Culture" FAIR link
   * Brant A. Gardner, "The Gadianton Robbers in Mormon's Theological History: Their Structural Role and Plausible Identification” FAIR link 

Video

Template:Video:Gardner:2004:The Case for Historicity The Case for Historicity: Discerning the Book of Mormon's Production Culture , Brant Gardner, 2004 FAIR Conference

   * Part 1: Case for Historicity: Discerning the Book of Mormon's Production Culture
   * Part 2: Case for Historicity: Discerning the Book of Mormon's Production Culture
   * Part 3: Case for Historicity: Discerning the Book of Mormon's Production Culture
   * Part 4: Case for Historicity: Discerning the Book of Mormon's Production Culture
   * Part 5: Case for Historicity: Discerning the Book of Mormon's Production Culture 

Template:Video:Gardner:2006:Book of Mormon historicity Defenders of the Book: Surveying the New World Evidence for Book of Mormon Historicity, Brant Gardner, 2006 FAIR Conference

   * Part 1: Defenders of the Book: Surveying the New World Evidence for Book of Mormon Historicity
   * Part 2: Defenders of the Book: Surveying the New World Evidence for Book of Mormon Historicity
   * Part 3: Defenders of the Book: Surveying the New World Evidence for Book of Mormon Historicity
   * Part 4: Defenders of the Book: Surveying the New World Evidence for Book of Mormon Historicity
   * Part 5: Defenders of the Book: Surveying the New World Evidence for Book of Mormon Historicity 

External links

   * William J. Hamblin, "The Latest Straw Man," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 4/2 (1995): 82–92. off-site PDF link wiki
   * William J. Hamblin, "An Apologist for the Critics: Brent Lee Metcalfe's Assumptions and Methodologies (Review of Apologetic and Critical Assumptions about Book of Mormon Historicity by Brent Lee Metcalfe)," FARMS Review of Books 6/1 (1994): 434–523. off-site PDF link
   * Louis Midgley, "Atheists and Cultural Mormons Promote a Naturalistic Humanism (Review of Religion, Feminism, and Freedom of Conscience: A Mormon/Humanist Dialogue by George D. Smith," FARMS Review of Books 7/1 (1995): 229–297. off-site PDF link
   * Louis Midgley, "The Current Battle over the Book of Mormon: Review of The Word of God Is Enough: The Book of Mormon as Nineteenth-Century Scripture by Anthony A. Hutchinson," FARMS Review of Books 6/1 (1994): 200–254. off-site PDF link
   * Dallin H. Oaks, "The Historicity of the Book of Mormon" off-site 

Printed material

   * C. Wilfred Griggs, "The Book of Mormon as an Ancient Book," 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]),75–94. ISBN 0884944697 GospeLink (requires subscrip.)GL direct link
   * William J. Hamblin, "The Final Step," Sunstone 16:5 no. (Issue #91) (July 1993), 11–12. off-site off-site
   * Paul Y Hoskisson (editor), Historicity and the Latter–Day Saint Scriptures, (Provo, Utah: BYU Religious Studies Center, 2001), ISBN 1577349288.
   * Louis Midgley, "The Challenge of Historical Consciousness: Mormon History and the Encounter with Secular Modernity," in By Study and Also By Faith, 2 volumes, edited by John M. Lundquist, Stephen D. Ricks, (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1990), 2: 502–551.
   * Louis Midgley, "The Acids of Modernity and the Crisis in Mormon Historiography," in Faithful History: Essays on Writing Mormon History, edited by George D. Smith (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1992), 189–225.
     Most of this volume takes the opposite view.
   * Gary F. Novak, "Naturalistic Assumptions and the Book of Mormon," Brigham Young University Studies 30 no. 3 (1990), 23–40.GL direct link 

Template:Book_of_Mormon_historicity_books Selected general works on Book of Mormon historicity

   * Alan Goff, "Historical Narrative, Literary Narrative—Expelling Poetics from the Republic of History," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 5/1 (1996): 50–102. off-site PDF link wiki
   * Paul Y. Hoskisson (ed.), Historicity and the Latter-day Saint Scriptures (Provo, Utah: BYU Religious Studies Center, 2001). ISBN 1577349288
   * Robert L. Millet, "The Book of Mormon, Historicity, and Faith," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 2/2 (1993): 1–3. off-site PDF link wiki
   * Hugh W. Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, 3rd edition, (Vol. 6 of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley), edited by John W. Welch, (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Company ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1988), 1. ISBN 0875791387. GospeLink (requires subscrip.)
   * Hugh W. Nibley, Lehi in the Desert, the World of the Jaredites, There Were Jaredites, edited by John W. Welch with Darrell L. Matthew and Stephen R. Callister, (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Company ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1988), 1. ISBN 0875791328. off-site GospeLink (requires subscrip.)
   * Hugh W. Nibley, The Prophetic Book of Mormon (Vol. 8 of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley), (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Company ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1989), 1. ISBN 0875791794. GospeLink (requires subscrip.)
   * Hugh W. Nibley, Since Cumorah, 2nd edition, (Vol. 7 of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley), edited by John W. Welch, (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Company ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1988), 1. ISBN 0875791395. GospeLink (requires subscrip.)
   * Multiple, "All," 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]), 1. ISBN 0884944697 GospeLink (requires subscrip.)
   * Multiple, "All," 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), 1. ISBN 093489325X ISBN 0934893187 ISBN 0884944697. off-site GospeLink (requires subscrip.)
   * Multiple, "All," in Ricks and Hamblin, eds., Warfare in the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1990), 1.
   * Multiple, "All," in Stephen D. Ricks & John W. Welch (editors), Allegory of the Olive Tree: The Olive, the Bible, and Jacob 5 (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Co. ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1994), 1. ISBN 0875797679. GospeLink (requires subscrip.)
   * 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]), all. ISBN 1573451576. GospeLink (requires subscrip.)
   * John L. Sorenson, "Digging into the Book of Mormon: Our Changing Understanding of Ancient America and Its Scripture, Part 1," Ensign (September 1984). off-site
   * John L. Sorenson, "Digging into the Book of Mormon: Our Changing Understanding of Ancient America and Its Scripture, Part 2," Ensign (October 1984). off-site
   * John L. Sorenson, Mormon's Map (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 2000), 1. ISBN 0934893489.
   * Multiple, "All," in John L. Sorenson and Melvin J. Thorne (eds.), Rediscovering the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Co. ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1991), 1. ISBN 0875793878. off-site GospeLink (requires subscrip.)
   * Multiple, "All," in Reexploring the Book of Mormon, edited by John W. Welch, (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1992), 1. ISBN 0875796001 off-site FAIR link 

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