During our lesson today, our elders quorum instructor shared an experience her had before his mission when he was in a university archaeology class.
On the first day of class, his professor asked all the Mormons to identify themselves, then he proceeded to use archaeological evidence to disprove the church.
I believe this is a flawed approach.
The subtitle of the Book of Mormon isn’t Another Testament of the Pyramids in the Americas. It’s Another Testament of Jesus Christ.
The point of the Book of Mormon isn’t about the establishment of an ancient American civilization; it’s that Jesus’s gospel is universal.
Mormons have brought it upon themselves, I believe, by trying to project archaeological findings onto the Book of Mormon. That’s a dangerous practice because if that evidence is refuted by additional research, where does it leave the church?
In my opinion, we should be less concerned about trying to prove the church is true and more concerned about proving that the gospel can change lives and make people better.
That seems a complete abuse of the professor’s position as a professor of archaeology. While his academic freedom is protected, attacking the faith of students in class so overtly is pretty horrible.
I agree. It seems an odd way to kick off the first day of class.