Non-LDS Scholars and the Book of Mormon

[Hemidakota]

from Meridian Magazine: Book of Mormon:Weighing, Measuring, and Judgment

By John A. Tvedtness

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But there are changes in the wind and though the number of critics seems to be increasing exponentially because of the internet, some serious non-LDS scholars have begun seeing the Book of Mormon as a valid topic of investigation, though most reject its claim of divine origin. This change in attitude may have played a role in prompting Doubleday to come to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2004, seeking permission to publish the Book of Mormon for a non-LDS audience. Meanwhile, Oxford University Press has published two books on the Book of Mormon by Terryl Givens, an LDS professor at the University of Richmond, Virginia. These were his 1997 history of anti-Mormonism, The Viper on the Hearth: Mormons, Myths, and the Construction of Heresy , and his 2002 book, By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion Out of the Dust: Saints, Scholars, Skeptics, and the Book of Mormon , which is a serious look at the Book of Mormon and its skeptics, along with a survey of the scholarly work being done in regard to it. 2

[IntoGod33]

Hi Hemidakota,

In my ward we actually had a PhD student sit in on a couple of our institute classes because she was writing her dissertation on the growth of the Church amongst Latin immigrants here in South Florida. She has been researching the Church for about 8 years now, and she says that she has always been so amazed at how open and welcoming all the members have been. She is a nonmember, so I think her research is highly significant.

I just got my BA in Religious Studies, and I was highly skeptical of the church for many years. When I converted, it was really hard because all my professors and peers tried to talk me out of it. They still treat me kind of funny, but it's better now. The problem is that they know very little about the structure and character of the church. It's refreshing to see non-LDS scholars doing research on the Book of Mormon. It's long overdue!