At a time when the church sponsored FARMS/MIRS group cannot and will not pinpoint the Book of Mormon lands, the industry of fleecing the LDS flock is on the rise.
"These are completely different cultures, and they developed in a different space and time," said Jose Huchim, an archaeologist and Mayan expert with Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History.
Even Mormon archaeologists say it will take decades of digging for artifacts before the Book of Mormon can be proved or disproved.
"I just see the tours as entertaining, and I try not to get upset that people are wasting their money doing foolish things," said John Clark, director of the New World Archaeological Foundation at Brigham Young University, which is owned by the church.
Another mo'pologist group at BYU? NWAF?
But it all does not matter to the TBMs!
But whether the archaeological evidence backs up the Book of Mormon is irrelevant, said tour participant Dawn Frenetti, 28, of Milpitas, Calif. Just seeing such sites is inspiring, she said. "It definitely helps me stay interested in learning more about the Book of Mormon," she said. "But, as far as confirming my faith, my faith has always been there."
"I just see the tours as entertaining, and I try not to get upset that people are wasting their money doing foolish things," said John Clark, director of the New World Archaeological Foundation at Brigham Young University, which is owned by the church.
In fairness, PP, you should have quoted the line above this:
Even Mormon archaeologists say it will take decades of digging for artifacts before the Book of Mormon can be proved or disproved. "I just see the tours as entertaining, and I try not to get upset that people are wasting their money...
Something criminal about holding out hope? I thought exmos believed that "all the evidence" is not in? And if you believe "all the evidence is in" in archaeology, then you know nothing about archaeology. It's an on-going process, not a final conclusion. All "conclusions" in science are tentative. If only life was so simple.
Yes, these groups are making money by misleading people. But if the tours enrich the pockets of the natives in some way and not just the tour guides then I wouldn't complain. Otherwise, it's just one more example of taking advantage of people's ignorance.
by the way, the New World Archaeological Foundation at BYU has been around a long time and, outside its nutty Mormon angle, has a good reputation. It was the group that Thomas Ferguson helped get going (Quest for the Gold Plates).
We hate to seem like we don’t trust every nut with a story, but there’s evidence we can point to, and dance while shouting taunting phrases.