Winning the Battle and Not Knowing It:
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of 2003
by
Justin Hart
It’s
not the battle for Helm’s Deep; it’s nothing like the siege of
Minas Tirith; but it is a battle nonetheless. An apt couplet
might run: “none of the bloodshed, all of the excitement.” The
clash between Mormon and anti-Mormon forces goes on. Here are
the latest dispatches from the battlefront.
DNA and the Book of Mormon
By
all accounts the top story of 2003 has been the debate over DNA
studies and the Book of Mormon. The story broke in late 2002,
when Thomas Murphy, a member of the church and professor at Edmonds
College in Washington state published a controversial article
concluding that “the Book of Mormon is a piece of 19th
century fiction.”
Murphy,
a self declared “Latter-day skeptic”, used DNA research indicating
that certain biological Near-Eastern “markers” were nowhere present
among Native Americans. The logic of his criticism runs thus:
Native Americans are decendents of the Lamanites, the Lamanites
were decendents of Lehi, Lehi was middle-eastern, therefore DNA
exclusive to middle-eastern peoples should be present among Native
Americans.
Press
circles picked up on the story as news spread of a disciplinary
council to be held for Brother Murphy and his wife. The media
angle was pretty easy to foresee: “Mormon Scholar Quashed, Excommunicated
for Paper Refuting Book of Mormon Authenticity.” The Stake President
delayed the council and reporters swarmed again: “Murphy Victorious;
Case Closed". The real story behind this event, however,
is far more complex and interesting.
It
was revealed that Thomas Murphy had been an inactive member of
the church for nearly a decade, a point which Murphy conceded,
adding “but I’m very active in the Mormon intellectual community.” After
further research, Allen Wyatt and others at FAIR discovered that
the PR force behind the story was being driven by prominent anti-Mormon
groups. FAIR further discovered that Brother Murphy likely contacted
these groups directly. (read the story here)
As
for the scientific charges against the Book of Mormon, there have
been many articles refuting both Murphy’s conclusions and his
assumptions. In January, Meridian published an rebuttal by Brant
Gardner from FAIR entitled: “The Tempest in
a Teapot: DNA Studies and the Book of Mormon” Gardner demonstrates
that Murphy’s efforts to equate all Native Americans as descendants
of the peoples of the Book of Mormon is deeply flawed. Scott
Woodward, a Professor of Microbiology at BYU has also made some
excellent remarks on the subject which you can view
online. Other studies at FARMS have pointed out the holes
in Murphy’s theory.
In
short, these responses have demonstrated that Murphy is relying
on an intercontinental reading of Book of Mormon geography. Most
scholars in the church have concluded that the events of the Book
of Mormon took place in a relatively limited geographic setting.
With this conclusion, the assumptions of Murphy’s analysis fall
apart. Furthermore, the research that Murphy enlisted was not
his own, nor was this data collected to address historic genetics.
In the end, the evidence Murphy cites relies on a stringent hemispheric
view of Book of Mormon demographics with assumptions that would
not pass the muster of any scholarly review as others have noted.
On
the positive side, this episode has furthered the discussion among
members of the church concerning the true origins of the Book
of Mormon people. The general assumption that all Native Americans
are descendants of the Lamanites has long been challenged by scholars
within the church. The church has not taken a definitive stand
on the issue, nor should it, since the motive of the Book of Mormon
is primarily a spiritual one. But the challenges posed by opponents
of the church should be readily examined. The responses from
various groups to the events around Thomas Murphy are a shining
example on how to approach these types of challenges.
Novelist Declares: Mormons are Violent
As
a writer, I can envision myself writing about all sorts of topics.
I have a certain penchant for writing about anti-Mormon literature
but I’m mostly an informer and analyst, I wouldn’t deem to admit
any deep scholarly knowledge. That being said, the pitfalls of
a novelist-atheist-adventurer turned theological commentator should
be obvious.
Jon
Krakauer has attempted just this in his latest book “Under the
Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith.” Krakauer’s book
is a general attack on religion and a very specific attack on
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The
First Presidency thought the publication a big enough event as
to issue a special press
release. As Mike Otterson, Director of Media Relations for
the Church stated:
This book is not history, and Krakauer is no historian. He
is a storyteller who cuts corners to make the story sound good.
His basic thesis appears to be that people who are religious are
irrational, and that irrational people do strange things.
Richard
Turley has produced a very telling
review of the book detailing the deficiencies in Krakauer’s
research, the prominent biases in his analysis, and his unsupported
conclusions.
Trouble on the Plaza
By
most accounts, General Conference in October 2003 saw the most
active anti-Mormon display in a very long time. This increased
activity was likely prompted by the church obtaining and developing
the new Church Plaza, formerly a part of Main Street.
A
quick review: the Salt Lake City Council asked the Church if they
would turn the stretch of Main Street into a green space. The
Church agreed, and paid $8.1 million for the land, a top dollar
figure by any measure. Some prominent anti-Mormon figures brought
a lawsuit against the church and Salt Lake City claiming a first
amendment right to protest on the Plaza.
In
late 2002, the 10th Circuit Court of appeals overturned
a previous ruling and sided in favor of the plaintiffs and the
ACLU. The court said the city cannot have public access on the
plaza while forbidding certain types of speech or other First
Amendment protections. The mayor and council then revamped the
offer permitting the Church full private rights for the Plaza
in exchange for 2 acres of land in Glendale, UT, where a community
center is to be built.
The
ACLU has gone back to court claiming that the plaza is a public
park and asking a judge to rule finally on the Plaza issue. A
ruling is expected shortly. Meridian
has followed these incidents carefully.
Protesters Overboard
My
favorite story about Temple Square protestors is about the Mission
President observing a passionate anti-Mormon shouting at the top
of his lungs: “church of the devil, this is the church of the
devil.” The Mission President notices another man, leaning against
his car and observing the same scene. The man approaches the
protestor and exclaims: “Hey, I belong to the church of the devil,
and I’m telling you, this ain’t it!”
Would
that protestors confined themselves to such oral objections. Sadly,
disgraceful desecration of Temple garments and even physical harassment
have become the norm for conference attendees. At the 2003 October
conference, two members of the church were arrested after taking
the garments away from a protester. The church is proposing a
possible buffer zone for the upcoming April General Conference.
For a closer look at the conference protesters and responses to
their claims against the church click here.
In
short, 2003 was a busy year for anti-Mormons and busier year for
anti-anti-Mormons. With new publications and other efforts underway,
2004 is already shaping up to be an exciting year. Well, back
into the fray.
Note
http://www.rickross.com/reference/mormon/mormon88.html
You can read Justin's previous dispatches below:
Winning the Battle and Not Knowing It
Part 1 |
Part 2|
Part 3|
Part 4|
Part 5
