Daniel's response to horses in the Book of Mormon

In July of this year, Ted Stoddard, a member of the board of advisers for the Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum, wrote a rebuttal to an article in the Mormon Times written by Linda and Richard Eyre. In that original article, they inferred that the use of the verb "bridle" in the Book of Mormon was simply an indication that Nephites had horses and used bridles. Bro. Stoddard called such a perspective "illogical, unfounded, and even deceptive."

The issue of horses in the Book of Mormon is a tricky one. It is accepted that no known Ancient American culture had horses or other draft animals. But does this extend back into Book of Mormon times? If Nephites and Lamanites did not have horses, then what animal is being described? If they did, then is there any evidence that such large animals existed on this hemisphere before Europeans 'discovered' it? Daniel has written a paper supporting the idea of actual horses in the Book of Mormon and shows evidence that modern horses did live on this continent anciently. He wrote a response to Bro. Stoddard's article that was also published by the Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum.

Click here to read Ted Stoddard's article on the BMAF website.
Click here to read Daniel's response on the BMAF website.

An LDS Guide to the Yucatán

We are extremely pleased to announce that Cedar Fort, after many discussions initiated by Daniel, has agreed to publish our next book, albeit electronically. The current information we have is that it will be available through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble for their e-readers, Kindle and Nook, respectively. It should also be available from our publisher as a direct download for those that don't have e-readers, but this could be a good reason to get one. As more formats become available, we will get the word out.

The authors at Chichén Itzá in 2006

Now you can read all about our experiences and adventures from our first-ever Mesoamerican trek through Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. This book will contain detailed information about sites like Ek Balam, Chichén, Itzá, Uxmal, the Caves of Loltún, Kabah, Xpujil, Becán, Calakmul, and Cobá. Thought-provoking evidence of gold plates, metal tools, unknown written languages, and indigenous horses will be presented as they pertain to these sites. Daniel had been discussing with the acquisitions editor at Cedar For on ways to cut costs on this next book. Initially, we were hoping for an actual hardcopy version to be published, but at least this way, the information gets out there and all of our color design, photos, and illustrations remain intact. If sales are good enough, they will consider publishing a physical book, so we are hopeful for that as well. We have also been told that our first book, An LDS Guide to Mesoamerica, is being prepared for release electronically.

Look for An LDS Guide to the Yucatán next year, in 2012. We feel that this could be just the right time for it. Not only will the Book of Mormon be the topic in Gospel Doctrine classes, but as everyone knows, it is the end of the Maya long count calendar, an event that has a lot of speculation flying back and forth. Our plan is to address this topic as well in the book, so it should be a worthwhile purchase. We will keep our followers updated on its progress.

The latest book news.

While things have currently been quiet in the area of firesides, Daniel has been working on updating chapters on what we hope to be our book on the Yucatán. We haven't heard much from our publisher lately, so he has been contacting them to find out just how things are going. Specifically, we are trying to convince them that publishing An LDS Guide to the Yucatán would be a worthwhile endeavor, especially if it came out in 2012. The current sales numbers we have from them state that over 2700 copies of our book have been sold. We know it has actually been more than that, because Daniel has purchased many boxes to sell at events he has attended, and those don't count toward sales. These numbers look good to us, but we don't really know how they look to professionals in the book publishing industry. Cedar Fort and some LDS bookstores have been offering drastically reduced prices on our book recently, so if you still haven't picked up your copy of An LDS Guide to Mesoamerica, now might be the time.

Some original Yucatán chapters have been revised already, and we are pleased to be able to offer a PDF of our chapter on Chichén Itzá. It is perhaps the best known ancient site in Mexico, and probably the most visited. The Book of Mormon comparisons from this site include Quetzalcoatl, Human Sacrifice, Bearded Toltecs, Warfare, the Underworld, Metal Weapons and Tools, Rule by Councils and Judges, Indigenous Horses, Plates of Gold, and Writing of Unknown Origin. This should be an interesting read, so please read it and let us know what you think. Chichén has been in the news lately because, much to our amazement, new excavation work has been done there since we last visited and  earlier structures have been found under the plaza around the Pyramid of Kukulcan. Also in the works is a new museum dedicated to ancient Maya culture of the area and officials are planning to feature some gold plates found at the Sacred Cenote. It just goes to show that there is always some new mystery to uncover here.

Click here to download the PDF.
Website for Cedar Fort, our publisher

Article on metal plates up at the BMAF website

The Book of Mormon Archaeological Foundation has published Daniel's latest article on ancient metal plates. Originally, he was asked by a representative of the BMAF to write an article responding to the announcement a few months ago of various ancient books or codices made from bound lead plates that were supposedly discovered in Jordan.

This seemed like a fascinating find, but the more he looked into it, the more suspicious these artifacts became. Most experts denounced them on many grounds and while there is no final word on the matter, it does appear that they are probably modern forgeries. But if they are, it means that the idea of ancient metal books is now widely supported. Daniel's article also includes many examples of non-controversial genuine ancient plates, mainly from the Mediterranean area, made from gold and other precious metals.

Click here to read Daniel's article on the BMAF website.
Click here to download a multi-page, formatted PDF of the article.

Successful Chilean fireside

Daniel had been contacted by a bishop in Chile about doing an online fireside for his ward in Chile. The original date was postponed due to a funeral that same evening. Luckily, the event was rescheduled for last month and completed using a video call through Skype.

The fireside was eventually held on Sunday 29 May. Daniel had to rush home after church because of the time difference. A few technical glitches later and everything was up and running. For about an hour, Daniel used a webcam and microphone to give our latest presentation in Spanish. On the other side of the connection was the El Libertador ward in Chillán, Chile. Attendees could watch and hear Daniel on a laptop and see slides from the presentation projected up on a wall. The fireside was organized and presided over by Álvaro Rodrigo, Figueroa Zapata, bishop of the ward. We are told that all who attended had a good time and learned a lot about archaeology and the Book of Mormon. According to Bishop Figueroa, there aren't many Spanish resources for this kind of information on Book of Mormon scholarship.

We are pleased that information from our book and studies are being appreciated in other parts of the world. Bishop Figueroa has translated some of Daniel's BMAF presentation and other papers into Spanish on his own blog. We have also become aware of a blog that has translated this content into Portuguese. Maybe one day we will be able to actually travel to these countries to meet members and give presentations in person there.

Visit the El Libertador ward's Facebook page.

Another fireside down and content on Deseret News

Jared and Daniel gave their fireside in Santa Rosa, CA on the first of May. At first, it seemed that not many were going to show up, but before long, more people arrived and kept arriving, so that several more rows of chairs had to be set out to accommodate them all. It had been a while since Jared and Daniel had been able to give a fireside together, so they had a great time and wish to thank those responsible for organizing this event.

Those attending enjoyed it and many stayed afterward to ask about the book and talk about what we had discussed. We are always interested in giving more firesides, so anyone who would like to put on a fireside or other presentation can get in touch with any of the authors to plan the event. Daniel is still interested in doing firesides in Spanish. It looks like his online fireside to Chile is being rescheduled for later this month.

The last post mentioned Daniel's article for Mormon Times about Maya gold plates from Chichén Itzá. That article was also picked up by the Deseret News website and appears on there as well. For a while, there was a link to it on the homepage. The article has received many comments, both positive and negative. Some see it as nothing but PR spin for the Book of Mormon; others see it as important evidence to be considered. Many of the comments touched more on the authenticity of Mormon scripture and why it is important. The information has been shared before, but we are pleased to share it again with a wider audience.

Mormon Times has also completed a review of An LDS Guide to Mesoamerica in its book reviews section. Our book was reviewed by Jarrod Hiatt, who gives a concise overview and says many positive things about it, writing that it is a compelling read for anyone traveling to or interested in Mesoamerica.

Click here to read Daniel's article on gold plates at Deseret News.
Click here to read the Mormon Times review of our book.