Brant A. Gardner's guest appearances

Brant A. Gardner

Latter-day Saint Perspectives

Scripture Central

Rita Wright

Joseph Smith

Scott Livingston

Craig Harline

Anthony Sweat

Kate Holbrook

Jenny Oaks Baker

Robert Millet

Michael Goodman

Terryl Givens

Jane Clayson Johnson

Jenny Reeder

Janiece Johnson

Melissa Inouye

Brad Wilcox

OwlTail

In this episode, Laura Harris Hales interviews Brant A. Gardner. He is the author of several books and articles discussing the text of the Book of Mormon and ancient Mesoamerica.The discussion covers the didactic model for translating the Book of Mormon and a possible setting for it.Brant describes how he became convinced that Mesoamerica could be a possible setting for Lehi to fit into the history of the American continent. He uses several examples from the text of the Book of Mormon that converge with the history of Mesoamerica at that specific time to support his theory.Then we have some fun chatting about how our understanding of Mesoamerican artifacts and their meaning has changed over the past fifty years. He also lists some false traditions that have hampered our understanding of the relationship between Lehites and indigenous cultures.According to Brant, his research is not presented to prove the Book of Mormon is true but rather to prove it interesting. I think you will agree that he does just that. Download TranscriptExtra Resources: Episode 10 PodcastTranslating the Book of MormonAnachronisms in the Book of MormonTraditions of Our Fathers: The Book of Mormon as HistoryA Reason for Faith: Navigating LDS Doctrine and Church HistoryLDS Perspectives PodcastEpisode 10: Book of Mormon Scholarship, Theories, and FolkloreLaura Hales:              Hello. My name is Laura Harris Hales. Welcome to LDS Perspectives Podcast. I’m here today with Brant Gardner, who earned his master’s degree in anthropology, specializing in Mesoamerican ethnohistory from the state university of New York of Albany. Thanks for visiting with us today, Brant.Brant Gardner:          Happy to be here.Laura Hales:              Tell our listeners a little bit about some of the books you’ve written on Book of Mormon studies.Brant Gardner:          I started kind of where most people would start — at the end. I began with a commentary on the Book of Mormon. The first thing that I published on the Book of Mormon was six volumes worth of more than you wanted to know about the Book of Mormon. Then I’ve been specializing since then. The other two after that series, the first was a book called The Gift and the Power: Translating the Book of Mormon, and the second, Traditions of Fathers: The Book of Mormon as History.Laura Hales:              As you write a book, it’s a research and a learning process. What was one of the biggest surprises you learned as you were writing these books?Brant Gardner:          I think the very first real surprise that I had when I was writing the commentary was that I wasn’t able to really look ahead to see where things were going. My mind would kind of range ahead, and I’d say, “Oh yeah, here’s what’s going to happen in the Book of Mormon, and here’s why that makes sense.” I found out that every time I did that, I was invariably incorrect, and that if I just went plodding through piece by piece by piece, it actually made sense.The surprising thing about that is if you think about it, if you’re taking a long trip somewhere, and you’re just a degree off in the direction you’re going that really gets you far off by the end. This process in the Book of Mormon had me dead on the whole way. I was really quite shocked that I could begin without the end in mind and have everything match up, if I just carefully plodded through and took it the way it came.Laura Hales:              That’s wonderful. Okay. We’re going to talk a little bit about your translation chapter because I think that’s what interests people so much, that Joseph Smith had this rock that he used. He put it in a hat and out came the Book of Mormon. You trace this relic that he used, this folk art, back in history to even the Bible, where prophets used something to enable them to translate or to have revelation. Can you give an example of that for us?Brant Gardner:          Yeah. Part of the question of dealing with the seer stone i...

In this episode, Laura Harris Hales interviews Brant A. Gardner. He is the author of several books and articles discussing the text of the Book of Mormon and ancient Mesoamerica. The discussion covers the didactic model for translating the Book of Mormon and a possible setting for it. Brant describes how he became convinced that Mesoamerica could be a possible setting for Lehi to fit into the history of the American continent. He uses several examples from the text of the Book of Mormon that converge with the history of Mesoamerica at that specific time to support his theory. Then we have some fun chatting about how our understanding of Mesoamerican artifacts and their meaning has changed over the past fifty years. He also lists some false traditions that have hampered our understanding of the relationship between Lehites and indigenous cultures. According to Brant, his research is not presented to prove the Book of Mormon is true but rather to prove it interesting. I think you will agree that he does just that. Download Transcript Extra Resources: Episode 10 Podcast Translating the Book of Mormon Anachronisms in the Book of Mormon Traditions of Our Fathers: The Book of Mormon as History A Reason for Faith: Navigating LDS Doctrine and Church History LDS Perspectives Podcast Episode 10: Book of Mormon Scholarship, Theories, and Folklore Laura Hales:              Hello. My name is Laura Harris Hales. Welcome to LDS Perspectives Podcast. I’m here today with Brant Gardner, who earned his master’s degree in anthropology, specializing in Mesoamerican ethnohistory from the state university of New York of Albany. Thanks for visiting with us today, Brant. Brant Gardner:          Happy to be here. Laura Hales:              Tell our listeners a little bit about some of the books you’ve written on Book of Mormon studies. Brant Gardner:          I started kind of where most people would start — at the end. I began with a commentary on the Book of Mormon. The first thing that I published on the Book of Mormon was six volumes worth of more than you wanted to know about the Book of Mormon. Then I’ve been specializing since then. The other two after that series, the first was a book called The Gift and the Power: Translating the Book of Mormon, and the second, Traditions of Fathers: The Book of Mormon as History. Laura Hales:              As you write a book, it’s a research and a learning process. What was one of the biggest surprises you learned as you were writing these books? Brant Gardner:          I think the very first real surprise that I had when I was writing the commentary was that I wasn’t able to really look ahead to see where things were going. My mind would kind of range ahead, and I’d say, “Oh yeah, here’s what’s going to happen in the Book of Mormon, and here’s why that makes sense.” I found out that every time I did that, I was invariably incorrect, and that if I just went plodding through piece by piece by piece, it actually made sense. The surprising thing about that is if you think about it, if you’re taking a long trip somewhere, and you’re just a degree off in the direction you’re going that really gets you far off by the end. This process in the Book of Mormon had me dead on the whole way. I was really quite shocked that I could begin without the end in mind and have everything match up, if I just carefully plodded through and took it the way it came. Laura Hales:              That’s wonderful. Okay. We’re going to talk a little bit about your translation chapter because I think that’s what interests people so much, that Joseph Smith had this rock that he used. He put it in a hat and out came the Book of Mormon. You trace this relic that he used, this folk art, back in history to even the Bible, where prophets used something to enable them to translate or to have revelation. Can you give an example of that for us? Brant Gardner:          Yeah. Part of the question of dealing with the seer stone i...

Episode 10: Book of Mormon Scholarship, Theories, and Folklore – Brant A. Gardner