Seer Stone v. Urim and Thummim: Book of Mormon Translation on Trial

I became keenly interested in the translation method of the Book of Mormon after reading the book, Joseph Smith's Seer Stones, by Michael Hubbard Mackay and Nicholas J. Frederick.

This book prompted further purchases and months of research. It also inspired a number of posts here at AF under the LABEL: Book of Mormon-translation method—the first of which was published back on June 29, 2017 (link).

A few months after the first post of the series, I published a thread (link) that raised a number of serious questions concerning the paradigm shift in the understanding of the translation method/process of the Book of Mormon by many Latter-day Saints. Foremost among those questions was the following:

The question that needs to be asked is: WHY has Kirkham's and Nibley's assessments been jettisoned by so many 21st century LDS scholars?

I immediately followed the above question with some reasons provided by LDS scholars who have embraced the paradigm shift—reasons which I am currently of the opinion are somewhat dubious in nature.

Now, up until just a few days ago, I thought I was pretty much the sole 'voice in the wilderness' who had some serious questions concerning this paradigm shift in the understanding of the Book of Mormon translation method. Last week, I finished reading the recently published book, Seer Stone v. Urim and Thummim: Book of Mormon Translation on Trial—I now know that I am not alone.

This book focuses on a number of the extant 'witnesses' of the Book of Mormon translation method/process, including an important, detailed examination of David Whitmer. His chapter, "David Whitmer vs. David Whitmer" (#14), is of particular interest, exposing a number of inconsistencies in the recorded Whitmer statements.

I sincerely hope that folk interested in this topic will purchase the book, and share their reflections on it.

The book can be obtained via Amazon (link), or directly through the publisher (link).

Grace and peace,

David