By J StuartAugust 15, 2024
See full CFP at bottom of post
The Church History in the Pacific and Asia Conference (CHPAC) is a joint effort between the BYU-Hawaii Faculty of Religious Education and Faculty of Culture, Language, & Performing Arts. CHPAC encourages scholars and amateur historians alike to research, preserve, and disseminate the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Pacific and Asia. The CHPAC provides a venue for presentations of that research and CHPAC committee members develop and pursue opportunities to publish and disseminate said research to a broader audience.
The 2025 conference will focus on places of gathering and refuge for Latter-day Saints in Asia and the Pacific.
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By Steve FlemingAugust 13, 2024
So as part of this larger series (1, 2, 3, 4) I started a while back on this blog about what I see as scholarly principles, I was thinking of eventually getting to the question of the Book of Mormon’s historicity.
Often when dealing with religious history, there is a (debated) school of thought that scholars should bracket out supernatural truth claims. But as often noted, the Book of Mormon isn’t wholly transcendent: Smith claimed it came from a a physical object that a handful of people claimed to have seen and touched, and Smith said it was the source of a translation claiming to be about ancient history in the Americas.
Both such claims (plates and historical record) are intrusions from the purely transcendent in the physical world, and both of these intrusions do allow for historical examination.
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Recent Comments
Steve Fleming on Study and Faith, 5:: “Large civilizations leave behind evidence of their existence. For instance, I just read that scholars estimate the kingdom of Judah to have been around 110,000…”
Eric on Study and Faith, 5:: “I have always understood the key to issues with Nephite archeology to be language. Besides the fact that there is vastly more to Mesoamerican…”
Steven Borup on In Memoriam: James B.: “Bro Allen was the lead coordinator in 1980 for the BYU Washington, DC Seminar and added valuable insights into American history as we also toured…”
David G. on In Memoriam: James B.: “Jim was a legend who impacted so many through his scholarship and kind mentoring. He'll be missed.”
Kibs on Study and Faith, 5:: “I find that the evidence of ancient culture matching the plausibility of the Nephites rather convincing. Mainstream LDS scholars are just looking on the wrong…”
Steve Fleming on Study and Faith, 5:: “Jonathan (from the other post) yes, Lehi came with a small group, but the BoM says they grew large and built a lot of stuff.…”