Abinadi's Fire wrote:The whole thing is very fascinating to me.
It's fascinating for me too. And sometimes I do play "Devil's Advocate". Other times I play "Heaven's Advocate". Just like BHR. (Let's see, he was born in 1857, I was born in 1954. Three years difference might not kill the reincarnation theory ;) )
Abinadi's Fire wrote: (Don Bradley posted this about three years ago at what was then the FAIR board)
Thank you for the attribution, AF. I see, though, that the post includes some interpretations of your own. I don't place Sidney Rigdon in the event, or argue that the Book of Mormon was dependent on Joseph Smith's life. (I believe it was; but I wasn't arguing that point.)
I've been working on what could be seen as a sort of "Unified Theory" for the Book of Mormon - that posts includes some thoughts from Dale Broadhurst as well.
CaliforniaKid wrote:Actually, much of the Book of Mormon plot follows a few fairly trite formulas and/or draws from Bible plotlines. It may not be a "boy meets girl" story, but it is a "people of God goes to America" story (that happens three times). I also recommend listening to Don Bradley's recent Sunstone presentation for some good insight into the formulaic nature of Book of Mormon conversion experiences. True, there is complexity in the Book of Mormon plot. But that's not impossible to accomplish without a draft, and I don't think there's anything in the story that absolutely demands a draft, so long as the author is sufficiently cognitively-endowed.
Thanks CK. My 2007 Sunstone presentation was on how the content of the Book of Mormon contributes to the effect it has on people's lives and shapes Mormon culture into what I call "a culture of witness."
The conversion experiences of the Book of Mormon are patterned, or formulaic, much like the well-known "pride cycle" discussed at times in LDS meetings.
That said, I think the Book of Mormon as a whole is almost fiendishly complex--far more complex, in fact, than even believing authors have argued. I'm trying to engage that complexity in some of my work now in progress.
Abinadi's Fire wrote:I've been working on what could be seen as a sort of "Unified Theory" for the Book of Mormon - that posts includes some thoughts from Dale Broadhurst as well.
I'd like to see it when you're finished, and out of serious interest, not just to criticise.
Abinadi's Fire wrote:I've been working on what could be seen as a sort of "Unified Theory" for the Book of Mormon - that posts includes some thoughts from Dale Broadhurst as well.
I'd like to see it when you're finished, and out of serious interest, not just to criticise.
What I have been working on begins with D&C 104, pre-changes, and attempts to identify the other characters in the book. The difficulty is in finding the external historical details.
One particularly interesting place name, to me, is Manti, which I think was Mentor, the home of one of Sidney Rigdon's early congregations. I see the characters as traveling there to "spread the news" about the early group seeing angels.
I haven't read the book the same since learning about the changes to D&C 104.