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Salt Lake City 2009 Exmormon Conference wrapup
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The 2009 Exmormon Conference "No Price Too High" concluded this weekend in Salt Lake City
Although the conference features a host of speakers and presentations, perhaps the best part of conference is the socializing and friendship it offers to exmormons.
Sue Emmett, vice-president of the Exmormon Foundation, shared a story about how she recently walked away from a horrible car accident that, according to paramedics, should have killed her. Insert obligatory joke about divine providence ensuring she made it to the Exmormon Conference here.
Charles Larson
Larson wrote "By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus" which explores the Book of Abraham and how it compares to what modern scholars know about the existing papyrus scrolls Joseph used. We have at least some of the papyrus, and it does not resemble anything that is contained in the Book of Abraham. Critics have used this as evidence that Smith was inventing his religion, while Mormon apologists have proposed various explanations. An hour long video about this issue can be viewed here.
Rather than discuss any of this, though, Larson mainly spoke about his exit from the LDS church, his motivation for writing the book, and the books he has published since. His talk was interesting, but not as informative as a more academic presentation of the Book of Abraham issue could have been. It wasn't until the question and answer period that the conversation steered this way, but even then, Larson didn't offer much. One attendee asked about Hugh Nibley's apologetic response to the Book of Abraham, and Larson simply called it "crap" without offering any details or explaining why. Another attendee asked if there were any contemporary materials that Smith would have used to fashion the Book of Abraham, but Larson misunderstood the question and instead offered some ideas about the origin of the Book of Mormon as well as the testimony of the three witnesses.
You can watch Larson's lecture here.
Craig Criddle
Craig Criddle presented his theory of the origin of the Book of Mormon using word print studies, contemporary testimonies, and historical records. In short, Solomon Spalding penned a piece of historical fiction about one of the lost tribes of Israel coming to the American continent, Sidney Rigdon obtained this story and inserted much of his own personal theology, and then he and Oliver Cowdrey recruited the charismatic Joseph Smith as the "front man" to sell it.
One concern I've always had with this is that it may be prone to some of the same "cherry-picking" that I frequently accuse Mormon scholarship of, just digging through history to find the nuggets he wants to use to construct his theory. However, if the peer reviewed linguistic analysis he's done is at all accurate, it would serve to confirm the predictions of his model.
The other major obstacle of his theory is that the Spalding document he proposes was used in the creation of the Book of Mormon is not available to be studied. He suggests that the original document was destroyed during the transcription process, and that this is the reason why Smith was unable to reproduce the lost 116 pages; they no longer existed. Since that document (if it existed) is gone, Criddle must rely on various witness testimony to establish what the document contained.
Mormons often uncritically accept witness testimony that supports the divinity of the Book of Mormon, but witness testimony establishes a fraudulent origin as well. With angels, golden plates, and lost civilizations on the one hand and a religious hoax on the other, it's interesting that Mormons choose to side with the most unlikely explanation
You can watch Criddle's presentation here.
Richard Packham
Richard Packham gave a fascinating discussion on the literary problems of the Book of Mormon, particularly linguistic anachronisms: words, ideas, and phrases that did not exist in the time, language, or culture of the Book of Mormon. He also points out various linguistic contradictions that make no sense if we grant the Book of Mormon's divine translation process. The most direct explanation, he says, is that the Book of Mormon was written by mortals attempting to mimic the King James English. He does go out of his way to mention some apologetic responses and addresses them, and he also mentions a few literary criticisms that have been made in the past that he doesn't feel are very strong arguments against the Book of Mormon.
You can watch Packham's presentation here.
"In the Shadow of the Temple"
The conference was the premiere of the documentary "In the Shadow of the Temple" which explores the very personal journey of individuals who choose to leave the LDS church. It was created by Dennis Lavery and Karen Di Milia, neither have ever been LDS. The film does not criticize Mormonism or its theology, but instead focuses exclusively on the effect that leaving has, and the pain it can cause through family and friends. The film seems to be an excellent attempt to build bridges of understanding, and so they offer anonymous gift shipping to LDS members.
Bill Lobdell
Lobdell spoke about his journey through religion as a reporter for the LA Times, and he later wrote "Losing My Religion" He says that he feels a particular kinship with exmormons because they seem to better understand the profound emotional effect of abandoning fundamental and literal religious beliefs. He spoke about the scandals and abuse within the Catholic Church, and eventually the realization that his faith required a leap of faith that he could not justify.
His talk is broken into multiple parts, but the first segment starts here.
Email Jonathan: slcfreethinking@gmail.com
Read Jonathan's other articles on science and religion
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