Chapter 16, Customs and Traditions
Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 7:30 pm MST
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/226299026
Wednesday, June 23, 2010, 7:30 pm MST
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/514652899
Saturday, June 26, 2010, 10:00 am MST
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The text for our online classes is the 2nd edition of Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon. If you don't have a copy, please call 801.226.5200 or email blake@ldstours.com to order yours.
This week, our classes will cover Chapter 16, Customs and Traditions.
Throughout the years since the first edition of Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon, we have tried to extinguish our admittedly biased feelings about Mesoamerica and the Book of Mormon by adhering to unwritten but nonetheless very evident guidelines for everything we say and do related to the history, cultural traditions, language, and geography of the Book of Mormon. We have felt so strongly about being objective and unbiased in our approach that we have put in writing our feelings about the need for total objectivity in everything we write for use in our tours of proposed Book of Mormon lands. Following are some of our guidelines for Book of Mormon research as found on pages 19-21 of the 2nd edition of Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon:
The objective, unbiased study of the history, cultural traditions, language, and geography of the Book of Mormon will increase any reader’s understanding of the Book of Mormon.
Standardized criteria that include the presence of language, archaeological evidence, cultural patterns, and a logical geographical model must be in place if readers are to test validly and reliably any proposed hypothesis on Book of Mormon geography and history.
Mesoamerica—and Mesoamerica only—fits the prescribed cultural, linguistic, archaeological, and traditional patterns required by the Book of Mormon itself. With that evidence in place, we can make geographical proposals with a high level of confidence.
In his 1936 treatise about the Maya, The Conquest of Yucatan, Frans Blom uses the Maya historical record to answer many questions about the customs of the Maya—and hence the customs of the Nephites and Lamanites. He invites readers to “see how [a] day passed for a Maya family at the time of the conquest, just as it had passed thousands of years earlier, and just as it passes today, four hundred years later” (p. 116). In other words, according to Blom, “As it was—so it is” (p. 122). We extend the invitation to join us as we examine the historical record of the Maya to gain significant insights about the customs of Book of Mormon peoples. Our class this week will review some insights of the daily-life customs of the Maya as they relate to the peoples of the Book of Mormon.
Please read Chapter 16 prior to the class.
You can click on or copy the following links to your internet address line to join the desired session. Make sure you use the right link for the session you want to join. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing a link to click when it is time for the class.
YOU CAN JOIN AS MANY OF THE CLASSES AS YOU DESIRE AS WELL AS SHARE THESE LINKS WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS OR SEND US THEIR EMAILS AND WE WILL SEND THEM AN INVITATION.
Please email blake@ldstours.com or call 801.226.5200 with any problems.
As a reminder, you need speakers to listen to the presenter, but a headset and microphone are not necessary at this time.
