Jonathan Neville

January 4, 2023Uncategorized

Globle game

If you play https://globle-game.com/game, here’s a clue for today’s answer:

Source: About Central America

January 4, 2023Uncategorized

Seeking the "true" history

Sometimes people seem to think historians can figure out exactly what actually happened in history.

They can’t.

A better way to understand the pursuit is in terms of probabilities.

That’s why I support the approach of multiple working hypotheses. We can assemble known historical facts, separate out assumptions, inferences, biases, traditions, etc., and then derive a variety of working hypotheses, or explanations, to which people can assign probabilities according to their own life experience.

At least during mortality, we will never know what actually happened.

Think about it: we don’t even know who played the drums on the Beatles’ 1968 song Dear Prudence, despite detailed analysis by experts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptAmOYIFIx8&t=631s

In a brilliant essay that everyone should read, LDS historian Richard Bushman explained the challenge of interpreting historical events.

it is disconcerting to observe the oscillations in historical fashion and to recognize how one’s own times affect the view of the past. Anyone unfamiliar with the writing of history may wonder why historians are such vacillating creatures. Are not the facts the facts and is not the historian’s task no more than to lay them out in clear order? Why the continual variations in opinion? It seems reasonable that, once told, the story need only be amended as new facts come to light.

The reason for the variations is that history is made by historians. The facts are not fixed in predetermined form merely awaiting discovery and description. They do not force themselves on the historian; he selects and molds them. Indeed he cannot avoid sculpturing the past simply because the records contain so very many facts, all heaped together without recognizable shape. The historian must select certain ones and form them into a convincing story. Inevitably scholars come up with differing accounts of the same event.[1]

[1]Richard L. Bushman, “Faithful History,” in Dialogue, https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V04N04_13.pdf

Source: Book of Mormon Concensus

January 3, 2023Uncategorized

Gospel Tangents and Jonathan Edwards

Rick Bennett at Gospel Tangents interviewed me in December. Part 1 of the interview is now available on youtube here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FB39S3o7sY&t=3s

An introduction to Jonathan Edwards for Latter-day Saints is here:

https://www.mobom.org/jonathan-edwards

I’ve been adding a lot of material to my Jonathan Edwards database, which I’ll publish eventually. An earlier version is available online here:

https://www.mobom.org/nonbiblical-intertextuality-database

Source: About Central America

January 2, 2023Uncategorized

2023 will be amazing

Lots of cool things underway that we’ll discuss as the year unfolds. Here are a few things we’ll consider.

I posted the resolutions of Jonathan Edwards here:

https://dailyjonathanedwards.blogspot.com/2023/01/new-years-resolutions.html

During the year we’ll learn a lot more about Jonathan Edwards and Joseph Smith.

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Book of Mormon Central may finally be transitioning away from their ridiculous M2C logo. The new umbrella is Scripture Central, which you can see here: https://scripturecentral.org/

The new logo and approach looks promising. We’ll see how long they retain the M2C logo for Book of Mormon and Pearl of Great Price sections, though.

We’ll comment on developments here: https://scripturecentralamerica.blogspot.com/

Not only is the M2C logo ridiculous for showing a Mayan glyph, but it doesn’t include English, which is the original language of the Doctrine and Covenants, as well as the only extant original versions of the Book of Mormon and Pearl of Great Price.

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We’ll be discussing more about Cumorah this year, leading up to the 200th anniversary of Moroni’s first visit. Some fun graphics (click to enlarge):

Cumorah: land of many waters

Joseph F. Smith’s account of interview with David Whitmer

Stevenson’s account of interview with David Whitmer

Oliver Cowdery’s explanation of the fact of Cumorah

Source: About Central America

December 31, 2022Uncategorized

Top 10 for 2022 (top 5 posts and top 5 pages)

The most-viewed resources on this blog have always been the Post about President Ivins and the Page on the BYU Packet on Cumorah.

That remained true in 2022 as well.

Overall, the blog had over 200,000 views, not counting the reposts at moronisamerica, amazon, and other sites.

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The top 5 most-viewed posts on this blog for 2022, in reverse order.

5. Reminiscences of Edward Stevenson

https://www.lettervii.com/2017/03/reminiscences-of-edward-stevenson.html

4. The First Presidency taught…

https://www.lettervii.com/2017/07/the-first-presidency-taught.html

3. More about Cumorah’s casualties

https://www.lettervii.com/2017/07/more-about-cumorahs-casualties.html

2. Abraham Lincoln on extinct giants

https://www.lettervii.com/2021/08/abraham-lincoln-on-extinct-giants.html

1. The Hill Cumorah by President Anthony W. Ivins

https://www.lettervii.com/2017/01/the-hill-cumorah-by-president-anthony-w.html

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The top 5 most-viewed pages on this blog for 2022, in reverse order.

5. Cumorah’s cave by Cameron Packer

https://www.lettervii.com/p/cumorahs-cave-by-cameron-packer.html

4. The Two Sets of Plates schematic

https://www.lettervii.com/p/the-two-sets-of-plates-schematic.html

3. President Ivins on the New York Cumorah

https://www.lettervii.com/p/president-ivins-on-new-york-cumorah.html

2. Trip to Fayette references

https://www.lettervii.com/p/trip-to-fayette-references.html

1. BYU packet on Cumorah

https://www.lettervii.com/p/byu-packet-on-cumorah.html

Source: Letter VII

December 28, 2022Uncategorized

2022 my top 5 posts

These are the posts I thought were the most important from 2022, with my reasons.

Each of these posts reflects different ways in which M2C has poisoned the narrative of the Restoration.

The Cumorah issue is not about various theories of Book of Mormon geography. That’s what M2C advocates want people to think so they can avoid the issues.

Cumorah is far more fundamental than that.

By rejecting the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah, M2C scholars, along with their employees, donors, and followers, have

(i) eroded confidence in the teachings of the prophets (particularly Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery),

(ii) misled and confused Latter-day Saints about Church history, and

(iii) created a specific, manipulative interpretation of the text to support an implausible historicity of the Book of Mormon.

There is no need for the M2C scholars to change their minds. That would be asking too much. But the problem could be easily solved if leading LDS scholars (along with their employees, donors, and followers) swallowed a humility pill and accommodated multiple working hypotheses, but there is little sign that they are willing to do so.

The top 5 posts:

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5. Nationalism, M2C, critics, and other topics

Intellectual debate on issues is useful and important. Unfortunately, many LDS intellectuals have dodged debate by raising red herrings (such as nationalism) and straw man arguments.

https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2022/01/nationalism-m2c-critics-and-other-topics.html

4. The Tragedy of Book of Mormon Central (3 parts)

I like the idea of independent LDS scholars explaining our faith in as many different ways as they can. For that reason, I embrace the concept of Book of Mormon Central (BMC).

Unfortunately, due to the ideology of its principals, BMC is a multimillion dollar operation that (in my opinion) deliberately misleads its donors by professing neutrality on Book of Mormon geography issues while aggressive and exclusively promoting M2C. BMC further misleads its English audience by promoting a detailed M2C geography on its Spanish language page. BMC uses the millions of dollars it raises to compete with official Church media for attention, such as with its “Come Follow Me” videos and ScripturePlus app, all in an effort to promote M2C (and SITH) while excluding alternative faithful interpretations of the text and the teachings of the prophets.

I still hope for the day when BMC will seek to unite, instead of divide, Latter-day Saints by welcoming and accommodating multiple working faithful hypotheses.

https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2022/09/the-tragedy-of-book-of-mormon-central.html

https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2022/09/the-tragedy-of-book-of-mormon-central_01020795603.html

https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2022/09/tragedy-of-book-of-mormon-central-part-3.html

3. Original Manuscript: Vol 5 of JSP, but full of agenda-driven content

The Joseph Smith Papers project is outstanding in every way, except for one serious flaw: the editors have chosen to promote modern theories and interpretations at the expense of objective historical analysis. The notes and even some editorial decisions have been made to promote two theories in particular (SITH and M2C). That narrative poisoning seeped into the Saints books and the Gospel Topics Essays, among other things. These problems were foreseeable and could have been avoided, but it’s not to late to improve the editorial content by removing the modern theories and observing a more accurate narrative present (i.e., reporting what the historical figures recorded instead of modern spin).

https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2022/01/original-manuscript-vol-5-of-jsp-but.html

2. The Rising Generation, SITH and the GTE

The impact of SITH and the GTE on the rising generation seems obvious, but many of the hired LDS intellectuals treat the GTE as scripture, defying the original (and stated) purpose of those essays. Some think these intellectuals defend the GTE because they wrote the GTE. Regardless, the GTE have been revised in the past and should be revised again.

https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2022/07/the-rising-generation-sith-and-gte.html

1. Already given: 116 pages and Cumorah

The whole Cumorah issues remains perplexing. We have a citation cartel of like-minded LDS intellectuals who continue to resort to sophistry and rationalization to repudiate the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah, solely to protect their personal theories about M2C. While problems of academic arrogance, defensiveness and intransigence is well-known in many (if not all) areas of academic endeavor, it’s inexcusable in this context.

It’s one thing to repudiate the teachings of the prophets; scholars have done that for generations, even at BYU. As long as the scholars explain their reasoning, people can make up their own minds. But it’s another thing for Latter-day Saint scholars to use their fiduciary positions at BYU to censor the teachings of the prophets so their students cannot even make informed decisions. Yet this is the current position of the citation cartel scholars.

Fortunately, the Maxwell Institute and BYU Studies have moved away from the citation cartel, somewhat (although BYU Studies still features the Sorenson/Welch M2C maps and other materials).

https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2022/10/already-given-116-pages-and-cumorah.html

Source: About Central America

December 27, 2022Uncategorized

2023, Hopewell, and Unesco

September 2023 is the 200th anniversary of Moroni’s visit to Joseph Smith.

During that visit, Moroni told Joseph that

“the record is on a side hill on the Hill of Cumorah 3 miles from this place remove the Grass and moss and you will find a large flat stone pry that up and you will find the record under it laying on 4 pillars of cement— then the angel left him.”

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1844-1845/41

During that visit, Moroni also explained what the record was about and where it was written:

He [Moroni] then proceeded and gave a general account of the promises made to the fathers, and also gave a history of the aborigenes of this country, and said they were literal descendants of Abraham. He represented them as once being an enlightned and intelligent people, possessing a correct knowledge of the gospel, and the plan of restoration and redemption. He said this history was written and deposited not far from that place, and that it was our brother’s privilege, if obedient to the commandments of the Lord, to obtain and translate the same by the means of the Urim and Thummim, which were deposited for that purpose with the record.

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/68

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Earlier this month the BBC published a travel article about “The US’ 2,000-year-old mystery mounds.”

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20221204-the-us-2000-year-old-mystery-mounds

Heading: “Constructed by a mysterious civilisation that left no written records, the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks are a testament to indigenous sophistication.”

Excerpt:

All of these all these prehistoric ceremonial earthworks in Ohio were created by what is now called the Hopewell Culture, a network of Native American societies that gathered from as far away as Montana and the Gulf of Mexico between roughly 100 BCE and 500 CE and were connected by a series of trade routes. Their earthworks in Ohio consist of shapes – like circles, squares and octagons – that were often connected to each other. Archaeologists are only now beginning to understand the sophistication of these engineering marvels.

Of course, 100 BCE is about the time when Mosiah discovered the people of Zarahemla and taught them a written language, which led to the flourishing of Nephite society. Many Latter-day Saints think Mosiah left from eastern Tennessee and joined the people of Zarahemla in present-day Illinois. From there, the civilization expanded eastward into Indiana and Ohio. Eventually, around 400 AD, fleeing from Lamanite attacks, the Nephite civilization retreated to western New York where the survivors were killed off by the Lamanites. All of this aligns with the archaeological record.

The article notes:

The US Department of the Interior has nominated eight of Hopewell’s earthworks for consideration in 2023 as a Unesco World Heritage site. These include The Great Circle and The Octagon in Newark, Ohio, as well Ohio’s first state park, Fort Ancient (not an actual fort). The other five are part of the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park: Mound City, Hopeton Earthworks, High Bank Works, Hopewell Mound Group and Seip Earthworks.

…

While a Unesco designation wouldn’t entail the return of land or reparations, it does mean greater local representation and education about Ohio’s Native American history.

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It would be fitting if, during the year of the 200th anniversary of Moroni’s visit, these historic sites finally receive Unesco recognition.

Source: Letter VII

December 27, 2022Uncategorized

2022 top ten – #1 – 5

The top 5 posts on this blog in 2022, starting with #5.

BTW, to be clear, these are the top 10 in terms of views, not my top 10 favorite. I never know why a particular post attracts more page views than another, but in some cases, it’s because my critics, especially my goofy critics, pass it around as part of their outrage theater performance.

I’ll post my own top 5 favorites later this week.

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5. Markets and Power (the credentialed class of the Bible and today)

https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2020/11/markets-and-power.html

4. Clarity vs confusion – George Q. Cannon

https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2019/06/clarity-vs-confusion-george-q-cannon.html

3. Books to Read – Vision in a Seer Stone

https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2020/07/books-to-read-vision-in-seer-stone.html

2. Understanding Church History by Study and Faith – part 2

https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2022/01/understanding-church-history-by-study_21.html

1. Original Manuscript: Vol 5 of JSP, but full of agenda-driven content

https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2022/01/original-manuscript-vol-5-of-jsp-but.html