New review from the Association of Mormon Letters

The Association for Mormon Letters, a non-profit organization promoting the production and study of Mormon literature, has reviewed our book and has some nice things to say. Among them are:

"This is, however, a very informative book that is enjoyable both to read and to flip through. Also, while the authors search for links in historical information and the Book of Mormon, they try to maintain the spiritual aspect of their search as a top priority.

Those readers who enjoy finding various perspectives on frequently discussed topics will find this book a welcome addition to their collection. It is a book that families can enjoy looking at together. Even small children will enjoy the pictures. Although there is no definitive study proving exactly where Book of Mormon events took place, the reading of this particular book can give the reader a greater appreciation of the world in which the writers and participants of the Book of Mormon may have lived."

Click here to read the full review.

We are pleased and thankful to receive so many positive reviews of our work and hope that those who have bought or received it are enjoying it as well. We gave a well attended residential fireside in November and are trying to plan another one in Northern California soon. We will keep you posted.

Back from the conference

Daniel is back from his weekend in Salt Lake City and all things considered, the trip was a success. We had ordered a few boxes of the book to sell at the conference and most were sold over the weekend. We may end up breaking even on the costs of the trip. Daniel signed many copies and spoke with attendees about the book and our trips. Overall, he received many positive comments about it and we look forward to new fans of our work.

Some interesting ideas were presented from several Book of Mormon scholars and authors. Donald Parry pointed out how the Book of Mormon's version of Isaiah added back in examples of parallelism in Hebrew poetry that appear to have been lost in other versions. Stephen Carr compared several competing theories of Book of Mormon geography, all centered in Mesoamerica. Richard Hauck told about new excavations he has planned at a site that may be a better candidate for the City of Nephi than Kaminaljuyu. Diane Wirth spoke on the importance of genealogy to the ancient inhabitants of this region. Garth Norman's presentation dealt with the dimensions of sculpture and architecture of the New World and how it related to the Babylonian and Egyptian cubit. David Lee presented a detailed analysis of bearded images from Mesoamerica, organizing them by region and time period. The open forum at the end was insightful, when the speakers fielded questions from the audiences on topics ranging from horses to North American locations. Aside from manning the booth and selling books, Daniel tried to catch as much of the presentations as he could.

On Sunday evening, he gave a fireside at a private home in Sandy. 24 people attended to watch the presentation about our trips and research and to discuss what we had discovered along the way. Sales of the book are going well and we are finding many people who are interested in reading about our experiences.

In Salt Lake for the conference

Daniel will be traveling to the Book of Mormon Archaeological Foundation's annual conference. It will be held at the Red Lion hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. He will be there on Saturday the 18th, manning a booth to sell copies of the book, answer questions, and show the PowerPoint presentation from our firesides. He will be attending the various sessions at the conference and will be at the booth during the breaks.

For those of you in the area, we invite you to come on by. There are some great presenters scheduled to speak, so there should be some very interesting information shared. Click here for a flyer with details on the event.

On Sunday evening the 19th, Daniel will be giving a fireside in Sandy, showing images and video from our trips and research. If you would like to attend, contact one of us for more details.

Recognition and Invitation by the Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum

We have received another positive review, this time from the vice-president of the Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum (BMAF). They have even included our book on their page of publications by BMAF members. We feel very honored to be recognized by them and included with such accomplished authors. Click here to see their page on us and read the review.

The BMAF holds an annual conference with presentations by esteemed authors and scholars of Book of Mormon topics. We have been invited to attend the next conference, held in Salt Lake City on 18 October of this year. We will have a booth to sell the book there and meet conference attendees and share other information we have gathered from our research and travels. The cost of attending the conference is quite reasonable and we encourage anyone in the area to drop by. Click here for a detailed program and info on how to register.

At least one of us will be there, manning the booth and talking with anyone who would like to discuss these fascinating topics. We hope to see you there!

On bookstore shelves

We have been informed that our book is on LDS bookstore shelves, at least in Utah. It can be purchased at Deseret Book and Seagull bookstores. We have also been told that copies are not staying on the shelves long, so to all of those who have been buying it, we thank you. If you go to one of these stores and they are out or haven't ordered it yet, please make a request. Tell them it's published by Cedar Fort and they should have no problem in getting it. The more people that request it, the more they will see a demand for it and order copies for more stores.

Keep checking back for exciting news next month.

Our first review!

The first official review of the book is in and we are happy to report that it is positive. Diane Wirth, a renowned LDS scholar and author on ancient cultures, had this to say:

"The authors, Johnson, Cooper and Gasser, make it very clear that they are not scholars on Mesoamerican history or archaeology; but, I must say, they have done their research well. Even though this book is for the layperson, they give many bits and pieces of useful information for the traveler to the sites of Mesoamerica. A photo of a gold plate/disc with hieroglyphs from Chichen Itza that they saw in storage at the Peabody Museum at Harvard, is an example of an important artifact that has been overlooked by most scholars. This find is extremely important to Latter-day Saints, since the Book of Mormon was inscribed with writing on golden plates..."

Click here and scroll down to read the full review
Click here for info on Diane Wirth

The book is now available!

After almost a year of hard work and months of waiting, the book is finally printed and ready for distribution. It is currently available online at our publisher's website and Amazon.com. We recommend ordering it directly from the publisher for a discount. Here is the link:

http://www.cedarfort.com/catalog/9781599551203.html

Check back for further news about buying it at bookstores and upcoming events.
Click the image to see a large version of the book's dust jacket.