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Case for Historicity: Discerning the BoM's Production Culture -and- Empathetic Imagination... (WMV)

Case for Historicity: Discerning the Book of Mormon's Production Culture, Brant Gardner, Mesa, Arizona: The Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research, 2004, WMV.

Gardner has fascinated FAIR Conference audiences for several years with his studies in Mesoamerican cultureÆs and how we can see traces of these ancient cultural elements in the Book of Mormon. In the debate over the historicity of the Book of Mormon, one aspect that must be considered is the production culture - the social context in which the book was written.

Gardner discusses the story of Ammon as an example of how we can apply ancient Mesoamerican politics in order to make more sense out of the events that occurred. In addition, anachronisms and 19th century textual borrowings are not an issue because they only occur as a product of the translation. This presentation, like his past presentations, makes a strong argument that the Book of Mormon is what it purports to be—an ancient American text.

Brant Gardner is the Product Manager for a privately held software company. His academic background includes work towards a Ph.D. in Mesoamerican Ethnohistory as the State University of New York, Albany. His published works on Mesoamerica include an analysis of classical Nahuatl kinship terminology, an ethnohistoric investigation into the identification of the use of Coxoh to designate a people and language in Southern Mexico, and an examination of the Aztec Legend of the Suns.

Empathetic Imagination: Reading Between the Lines in 'Standing On the Promises', Margaret Blair Young and Darius Aidan Gray, Mesa, Arizona: The Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research, 2004, WMV.

Young and Blair have returned to the 2004 conference to share more of their wonderful research on early Black members of the Church. We get glimpses into the blessings, trials, and struggles of several early black members. Their stories are inspiring and touching and anyone with an interest in early LDS history needs to listen to their moving presentation.

Margaret Blair Young is a writing instructor at Brigham Young University and has published two short story collections and six novels, including the Standing on the Promises trilogy which she co-authored with Darius Gray, president of the Church's "Genesis Group." The trilogy is historical "faction"--fictionalized as needed and supplied with copious endnotes. The three books, One More River to Cross, Bound for Canaan and The Last Mile of the Way cover the history of several great Mormon pioneers of color. Margaret has also authored a play about Jane Manning James, titled I Am Jane.

Darius Aidan Gray has a Bachelor of Sciences degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of Utah, and has completed programs with the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University sponsored by the Ford Foundation, ABC, and CBS (a professional program equivalent to earning a Master's Degree without the thesis). A skilled communicator and writer, he was senior staff reporter and chief photographer at the CBS affiliate in Salt Lake City. He also worked as an assistant to a U.S. Senator on African Affairs. He's also an independent business consultant, and a small business owner dealing with the automobile after market.

Through August 2003, Darius presided over the Genesis Group, an official arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints organized in 1971 to support Church members of African descent. His grandfather James Louis Gray was born a slave; his great-grandfather Louis Gray was a slave near Independence, Missouri, and appears in Standing on the Promises: One More River to Cross.

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Title: Case for Historicity: Discerning the BoM's Production Culture -and- Empathetic Imagination... (WMV)

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