ATTENTION BOOK OF MORMON BELIEVERS!

DO YOU REALIZE WHAT SO-CALLED
“BOOK OF MORMON ARCHAEOLOGY” REALLY REVEALS?

Dr. Michael D. Coe, who is chairman of the Department of Anthropology at Yale University and one of America’s foremost archaeologists, writes concerning “Archeology and the Book of Mormon,” “Mormon archaeologists over the years have almost unanimously accepted the Book of Mormon as an accurate, historical account of the New World between about 2,000 B. C. and A. D. 421. They believe that Smith could translate hieroglyphs…. Let me now state categorically that as far as I know, THERE IS NOT ONE PROFESSIONALLY TRAINED ARCHEOLOGIST who is not a Mormon, WHO SEES ANY SCIENTIFIC JUSTIFICATION FOR BELIEVING THE FOREGOING TO BE TRUE…The bare facts of the matter are that NOTHING ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, HAS EVER SHOWN UP IN ANY NEW world excavation which would suggest to a dispassionate observer that the Book of Mormon, as claimed by Joseph Smith, is a historical document relating to the history of early migrants to our hemisphere… In conclusion…Forget the so-called fruitless quest for the Jaredites, Nephites, Mulekites, and the lands of Zarahemla and Bountiful, there Is NO MORE CHANCE OF FINDING THEM than of discovering the ruins of the bottomless pit described in the book of Revelations.” (Dr. Coe has spent a large part of his time for the past several years on archaeological expeditions In Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. His article, from which the material quoted above was taken, appeared in “Dialogue, A Journal of Mormon Thought,” Vol. B, No. 2, 1973. pp. 40-4.)

Dee F. Green. Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Weber State College, who studied archaeology at Brigham Young University, and is a Book of Mormon believer, writes. “In assessing the future relationship of the Book of Mormon to archaeology, one must first consider how long it will take us TO RID OURSELVES OF THE UNFORTUNATE MYTHS WE HAVE BUILT UP AROUND THE RELATIONSHIP…THE FIRST MYTH WE NEED TO ELIMINATE IS THAT BOOK OF MORMON ARCHAELOLOGY EXISTS…. Another MYTH WHICH NEEDS DISPELLING IS OUR LAMANITE SYNDROME. MOST AMERICAN INDIANS ARE NEITHER DESCENDANTS OF LAMAN NOR NECESSARILY OF BOOK OF MORMON PEOPLE.” He concludes with a statement that those who desire to “understand the contents of the Book of Mormon” will have to take it by “faith, NOT PROOF…NOT ARCHAEOLOGY…” (“Dialogue,” Vol. 4, No. 2, pp. 71-80).

Could this be the reason the R.L.D.S. Church in their Study Paper Prepared for the Curriculum Consultation Committee in December 1967 suggested it world “be prudent to avoid any specific dogmatic pronouncement as to the ultimate nature and origin of the Book? This study further explains, “Extravagant claims about ancient American archaeology supporting the Book of Mormon have been made…Indian vocabulary lists have been compiled…sponsoring archaeological exploration…for several years in the hopes of turning up some evidence…ALL TO NO AVAIL.” The study concludes by expressing the need to “BE SAVED FROM HAVING TO TACKLE SOME OF THE EXTREMELY THORNY ISSUES INVOLVED” and suggests that sometimes it might be wise for “A DISCREET SILENCE IN AREAS WHERE HITHERTO BOOK OF MORMON TEACHINGS HAVE BEEN INVOLVED.

With many of the leaders in the larger Book of Mormon believing churches having this knowledge about the Book and its origin — IS IT RIGHT FOR THEM TO AVOID THE ISSUE? IS IT CHRISTIAN TO BE DISCREETLY SILENT — SEEKING TO “BE SAVED FROM HAVING TO TACKLE” the issues? May God help those who know the truth to have the courage to FACE THE ISSUE AND TELL THE PEOPLE THAT THEIR DILEMMAS ARE CAUSED BY DELUSIONS WHICH WERE TAUGHT THE LATTER DAY SAINTS FROM 1827 ON to our present time. The time is long past to stop covering-up and let the truth about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon be known.

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, HATH IN THESE LAST DAYS SPOKEN UNTO US BY HIS SON. WHOM HE HATH APPOINTED HEIR OF ALL THINGS, BY WHOM ALSO HE MADE THE WORLDS.” (Heb. 1:1-2). May all our eyes and ears be opened to believe those words which were spoken unto is by that Son, Jesus Christ — which words are preserved for us in the testimonies of His apostles in the Bible.