tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186807070887581191.comments2024-01-05T17:16:51.322-08:00no more contentionjonathan3dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05379975395372054926noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4186807070887581191.post-27433653120081003792024-01-05T17:16:51.322-08:002024-01-05T17:16:51.322-08:00Hi Jonathan,
I'm a newcomer to your site, an...Hi Jonathan,<br /> I'm a newcomer to your site, and have been listening to both sides of this argument for some time now, and am trying to look at things from the standpoint of each side. I have the following suggestions:<br /> 1) I see fault on both sides as far as making accusations that I think misread the intentions and motivations of the other side. <br /> 2) It doesn't help when one side accuses the other of either being 'dangerous', in one case, or else 'not following the words of the prophets', in the other case. If one side (or both) treats the other with more charity in this regard, then I think that would encourage the other side to do the same.<br /> 3) I think there is plenty of room for both views in the church, as I firmly believe Neal A. Maxwell's quote: “It is the author’s opinion that all the scriptures, including the Book of Mormon, will remain in the realm of faith. Science will not be able to prove or disprove holy writ. However, enough plausible evidence will come forth to prevent scoffers from having a field day, but not enough to remove the requirement of faith. Believers must be patient during such unfolding”<br /> 4) I think when we insist that our theory of Book of Mormon geography is 100% the correct one and then using the words of previous prophets as absolute proof, then we are setting ourselves up to be misguided. As Neal A. Maxwell said in the quote I provided, the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon is and should remain in the realm of faith primarily. For that reason, I don't think that Joseph Smith or any other early church leader knew for certain the exact location of Book of Mormon events and cities, etc., though I think we can tease those locations eventually from archaeology and research, but I believe that it will be gradual and subject to speculation. We need to be careful about insisting on 100% physical proof until we can know for certain. That time is not yet.Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11724116991185105280noreply@blogger.com