Aztec storm god, Tlaloc, with his goggles.
Posted in Book of Mormon Evidence Mesoamerica Scholarship Translation

Ancient American Goggles and the Nephite/Jaredite “Interpreters,” Part 2

My previous post, “Don’t Google ‘Spectacles,’ Google ‘Goggles’: The Nephite ‘Interpreters’ as a Book of Mormon Anachronism” (hereafter Part 1), raised the possibility that ancient Mesoamerican “goggles,” sometimes depicted as…

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The storm god Tlaloc and his goggles.
Posted in Book of Mormon Evidence Mesoamerica Translation

Don’t Google “Spectacles,” Google “Goggles”: The Nephite “Interpreters” as a Book of Mormon Anachronism

When Joseph Smith received the gold plates of the Book of Mormon, he also apparently obtained the Nephite/Jaredite “interpreters,” said to be like “spectacles,” that could be used to assist…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Book of Mormon Egyptian Evidence Hebrew language Mesoamerica Scholarship

John S. Robertson Offers Strong Support for Brian Stubbs

Recently Brian Stubbs, a leading and widely respected expert on the Uto-Aztecan language family, provided a guest post with his detailed response to a harshly critical review of his work…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Antiquity Book of Mormon Egyptian Evidence Hebrew language Mesoamerica Scholarship

Guest Post from Brian Stubbs: A Response to Chris Rogers’ “A Review of the Afro-Asiatic: Uto-Aztecan Proposal” in the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

I’m pleased to offer an important guest post from Brian Stubbs, one of the world’s leading experts in Uto-Aztecan languages and a scholar whom I deeply respect for his insights…

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Posted in Book of Mormon Evidence history Mesoamerica Scholarship

Evidence At Last: The Many Aspects of John Lloyd Stephens’ Work That Strengthened Mormons in the 1840s

A delightful trend in modern Book of Mormon criticism today is to scour books, articles, and maps for information that hypothetically could have aided Joseph Smith in fabricating many of…

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Posted in Book of Mormon Evidence history Mesoamerica Problems Scholarship

In Defense of Dr. John E. Clark’s “Ludicrous” Assessment of Early Criticism of the Book of Mormon

Dr. John E. Clark’s presentation on archaeology and the Book of Mormon, the subject of a recent post here, has been taken to task by one of our critics for…

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Posted in Ancient Near East Arabian Peninsula Book of Mormon Evidence Mesoamerica Origins Problems Scholarship Science Videos

Evaluating Book of Mormon Claims: Where Do We Stand after 187 Years?

After 187 years of critics poking fun at the Book of Mormon and exposing its weaknesses, today it seems to be the established view of numerous highly educated elites that…

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Posted in Book of Mormon Evidence Mesoamerica

Stone Boxes on Display in Mexico City

In March, my work duties took me to Mexico City, where one evening I had a little time to rush through the National Museum of Anthropology. One thing that was…

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Posted in Book of Mormon Evidence Mesoamerica Photography

Cement at Teotihuacan

For those of you interested in the issue of cement in the Book of Mormon, here are some photos I took earlier this year at Teotihuacan near Mexico City, where…

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Posted in Book of Mormon Evidence Faith Mesoamerica Scholarship

Don’t Forget Cement

I continue to be intrigued by the way that “ridiculous” elements in the Book of Mormon eventually become significant evidences of authenticity. The mention of cement in Helaman 3 is…

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