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I love the intermountain west. I love it's beauty and all of the activities it offers the human body.  I seem to appreciate it more and more the older I get.  I really love Utah.  So much beauty - so much to do.  I love cycling. I love golf and skiing too, but I really love cycling in beautiful places - it can be the best form of meditation and, as I grow old, I think it is one of the best workouts for an older person.

I also love being entertained w humor.  Intelligent humor or even the "Cable Guy" sort of humor! This past week I've got treated w both here in Utah.  

I came up for the Tour de Utah as I'm involved in sponsoring a team and a couple of riders.  Even spent a few days riding (and a little golf) in this gorgeous country.  Rode from Research Park up here to Snowbird yesterday w a group of us "old guys".  Probably not a great decision as it took everything out of me riding up Little Cottonwood to this place.  Bit off more than I could chew, bit sure made a beer at the finish taste extra great!! The Tour will finish here in a few hours today and these guys will make it look easy.  For those who want to see some great kids, so physically fit, come on up to the finish!

Then comes some great humor!  While sipping on a coffee, checked in on a thread discussing Book of Mormon Archaeology at the FAIR board ( http://www.mormondialogue.org/topic/55250-when-should-non-believers-take-bom-archaeology-seriously/ ).  The topic had to do with credibility and acceptance of Book of Mormon archaeology - a huge topic for humor in Provo!

Bit then I saw this quote from the ever-so-well known archaeologist pretending to be a computer salesman - Brant Gardner.  He was responding to when will Book of Mormon archaeology scholarship be accepted by outsiders.  It was worthy of a Comedy Club appearance:

We should wait for mainstream archaeologists to decide that the Book of Mormon is an ancient artifact and begin to produce evidence for it before the faithful begin to attempt to do so? What do you think the chances of that every happening are? What actually might happen is that the faithful (who have an interest in understanding the Book of Mormon in a real world context) do the footwork and provide the framework in which the mainstream archaeologists might see where it fits. Even then, however, I strongly suspect that the best we would hope for is "I can see why you say that" and then they would move on with their current interests.

Still, I see no hope to move anything along if the criteria is that we have to wait for someone who is completely uninterested in the topic to decide to spend a lot of time on it.

This was hilarious and took the mind off the lingering pain from yesterdays ride.  Only in Provo could one hear such a response and keep the milk from coming out their nose!  And remember, as we've been informed, this is from a guy who's been published in West Draper!!

I think he needs to work into his act that until the Mormon Church and BYU takes such works seriously, it won't get much attention outside of Provo. Brant, ever wonder why even BYU won't teach this archaeology or history, of the people, places or cultures described in the Book of Mormon in an accredited history or archaeology class?

But just as I can't tell you who will win the Tour de Utah today, I don't want to give the punch line to Brant's Provo Comedy Club routine!

Only in Provo baby!

Joey wrote: Only in Provo . . . Provo . . . Provo Comedy Club routine! . . . Only in Provo baby!

Another important contribution from Joey!!!!!!

Daniel Peterson wrote:

Joey wrote: Only in Provo . . . Provo . . . Provo Comedy Club routine! . . . Only in Provo baby!

Another important contribution from Joey!!!!!!

And nice of the alleged scholar to address the meat of the OP and refrain from petty nit picking of unrelated things. I mean he DID go all the way through at least one program and would never accept this behavior from his own students. He knows better, you know. He would never ignore that in order to obfuscate.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Simon Belmont wrote:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And chock up another post for the S.B.

I love the intermountain west. I love it's beauty and all of the activities it offers the human body. I seem to appreciate it more and more the older I get. I really love Utah. So much beauty - so much to do. I love cycling. I love golf and skiing too, but I really love cycling in beautiful places - it can be the best form of meditation and, as I grow old, I think it is one of the best workouts for an older person.

Congrats on your great cycling work out! I am surrounded by dirt roads and I so envy you!

:-)

It’s an interesting point Joey raises. When you look at other major world religions, they all have contributions from scholars outside from the tradition that is respected by many from within the tradition. This seems to be lacking with Mormon/LDS movements, and from what has appeared within the pages of FARMS, should this surprise anyone?

Is there someone within Mormon studies that is what Bernard Lewis is to Islam? Brant should be asking why non-Mormons are not interested, instead of wanting to press on without them. Community and Scholarship go hand in hand, an all Mormon group of scholars is treading closely to intellectual inbreeding.

I'm also reminded how Chris Smith was treated by someone in this thread when he attempted to defend Grant Palmer from unfounded rumors.

Was it an alleged scholar?

Bro. Gardner's statement as quoted in the OP was pretty funny, especially in light of the fact that credible Mesoamerican archeologists have provided their findings as to the probability that the Book of Mormon is as the Mormon Church claims it to be.

These findings were published as early as the 1970's, and the probability according to the author of the paper, Prof. Michael Coe, has only diminished since then.

Apparently Bro. Gardner is not aware that a Harvard educated Prof. Coe from Yale (who knows and has worked with LDS archeologists, and who in fact claims to like Mormons), has placed the probability of the Book of Mormon being what the LDS Church claims at "as close to zero as one can get".

His recent (August 12, 2012) podcast with John Dehlin is the subject of the "Yale Academic looks at Mormon Archeology" thread in the CK forum.

Coe's views clearly represent the evidence based consensus opinion of the larger academic community of Mesoamerican archeologists. You know, the ones who Gardner claims are uninterested.

I wonder what part of "as close to zero as one can get" it is that Bro. Gardner cannot understand?