Terryl Givens Fireside - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

ghardy · 05-18-2011, 02:03 PM

Thanks for the detailed report from the fireside. Terryl Givens is one of the most engaging and thoughtful LDS scholars around.

I would like to clarify one issue in the thread, however. I am still a believer (in fact, I'm currently serving in a stake presidency), and I most certainly think that the Book of Mormon is historical. In writing my book for Oxford, I tried to leave some room for non-Mormons to engage seriously with the contents of the Book of Mormon from the perspectives of literature, world scripture, and religious studies. Even so, reviewers at the press complained that I took Nephite history far too seriously. In academic contexts, polarizing issues such as historicity can sometimes be temporarily bracketed, but when I speak in church or go out with the missionaries, I am more than happy to bear testimony that the Book of Mormon is exactly what it claims to be.

Grant Hardy

05-18-2011, 02:03 PM	#11
ghardy Junior Member Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 4	Thanks for the detailed report from the fireside. Terryl Givens is one of the most engaging and thoughtful LDS scholars around. I would like to clarify one issue in the thread, however. I am still a believer (in fact, I'm currently serving in a stake presidency), and I most certainly think that the Book of Mormon is historical. In writing my book for Oxford, I tried to leave some room for non-Mormons to engage seriously with the contents of the Book of Mormon from the perspectives of literature, world scripture, and religious studies. Even so, reviewers at the press complained that I took Nephite history far too seriously. In academic contexts, polarizing issues such as historicity can sometimes be temporarily bracketed, but when I speak in church or go out with the missionaries, I am more than happy to bear testimony that the Book of Mormon is exactly what it claims to be. Grant Hardy