I think the reason for the unending interest is obvious. Joseph Smith said he had a lost civilization's ancient plates with Reformed Egyptian writing on them. He said he found them by divine revelation, interacted with an angel about them, and that he then translated their language--which he did not know--using sacred relics buried with those plates. None of us has seen the plates, the writing on them, or the sacred relics found with them. So . . . . .
Why is that not a mystery to look into or talk about A LOT?!?!?!?!?!?
PEOPLE LOVE MYSTERIES!
They love aliens, Big Foot, Lost Tribes of Israel, ghosts, demons, angels, magic, lost civilizations, buried treasures, etc.
Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon narrative checks a lot of boxes that people are interested in.
I think it would be more miraculous if people were NOT constantly asking a lot of questions about his claims regarding the Book of Mormon.
Rev., I would not be averse to your adding Nessie to your list of mysteries - as long as she is accorded due respect, of course!
Of course the implications may be different for one investigation vs. another.
I think the reason for the unending interest is obvious. Joseph Smith said he had a lost civilization's ancient plates with Reformed Egyptian writing on them. He said he found them by divine revelation, interacted with an angel about them, and that he then translated their language--which he did not know--using sacred relics buried with those plates. None of us has seen the plates, the writing on them, or the sacred relics found with them. So . . . . .
Why is that not a mystery to look into or talk about A LOT?!?!?!?!?!?
PEOPLE LOVE MYSTERIES!
They love aliens, Big Foot, Lost Tribes of Israel, ghosts, demons, angels, magic, lost civilizations, buried treasures, etc.
Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon narrative checks a lot of boxes that people are interested in.
I think it would be more miraculous if people were NOT constantly asking a lot of questions about his claims regarding the Book of Mormon.
Rev., I would not be averse to your adding Nessie to your list of mysteries - as long as she is accorded due respect, of course!
Rev., I would not be averse to your adding Nessie to your list of mysteries - as long as she is accorded due respect, of course!
Nessie with due respect of course!
"He disturbs the laws of his country, he forces himself upon women, and he puts men to death without trial.” ~Otanes on the monarch, Herodotus Histories 3.80.
Of course the implications may be different for one investigation vs. another.
Regards,
MG
And that is a problem?
"He disturbs the laws of his country, he forces himself upon women, and he puts men to death without trial.” ~Otanes on the monarch, Herodotus Histories 3.80.
A commenter on SeN recently stated their belief that other plates will surely be found in the Americas, vindicating all of Mormonism’s alternative view of history.
Of course the implications may be different for one investigation vs. another.
Regards,
MG
And that is a problem?
Potentially. Lots of things are interesting and even worth looking at out of interest. Some investigations involve those things which may or may not be of eternal veracity and worth. I would place those investigations in a different category than, say, Bigfoot or Loch Ness Monster.
A commenter on SeN recently stated their belief that other plates will surely be found in the Americas, vindicating all of Mormonism’s alternative view of history.
Hope springs eternal, I guess.
I think it's fairly common in certain types of belief system to express optimism, if not downright certainty, of future vindication.
For my money, for these putative "other plates" to vindicate all of Mormonism’s alternative view of history, or even a substantial portion of that view, some pretty stringent conditions would need to be met.
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I think the reason for the unending interest is obvious. Joseph Smith said he had a lost civilization's ancient plates with Reformed Egyptian writing on them. He said he found them by divine revelation, interacted with an angel about them, and that he then translated their language--which he did not know--using sacred relics buried with those plates. None of us has seen the plates, the writing on them, or the sacred relics found with them. So . . . . .
Why is that not a mystery to look into or talk about A LOT?!?!?!?!?!?
PEOPLE LOVE MYSTERIES!
They love aliens, Big Foot, Lost Tribes of Israel, ghosts, demons, angels, magic, lost civilizations, buried treasures, etc.
Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon narrative checks a lot of boxes that people are interested in.
I think it would be more miraculous if people were NOT constantly asking a lot of questions about his claims regarding the Book of Mormon.
I think this is a incredibly important observation. Smith's goal was controversy. If I start a UFO channel on YouTube, the best way to get attention is to start making outlandish claims. You absolutely want negative attention. If you can make wild claims and sound reasonably sincere to the plebs, then hecklers are your allies. If I go on YouTube and give an account of my alien abduction and interaction with various aliens and make it as dumb and obvious as possible, but I'm sincere about it, then after the hecklers come by to tell me what an idiot I am, defenders will rise and shout down the "haters" and be sympathetic toward me not because I'm believable, but because they don't think I deserve to be treated that way. Why do you think Binger went nuts and attacked the whole forum? He doesn't really agree with the simpletons he defends and their ignorance, he disagrees with what he perceives as the heavy-handed and rude way that these people are completely dismantled by rational thinkers who possibly have more in common with him otherwise. Sympathy for the underdog is a powerful tool. So MG should consider that Joseph Smith knocked it out of the park, he trolled the world and is still getting a reaction. And it's exactly what he wanted.
Lost Gospel of Thomas 1:8 - And Jesus said, "what about the Pharisees? They did it too! Wherefore, we shall do it even more!"
