Utah Sen. Bennett makes a leap, defends his LDS faith in new book

The Salt Lake Tribune ^ | Sept. 17, 2009 | Kristen Moulton

[Colofornian]

Bob Bennett has a challenge for those who reject The Book of Mormon as a fanciful work of fiction...In a new book, Leap of Faith: Confronting the Origins of The Book of Mormon, the lifelong Mormon and grandson of a church prophet, argues that the foundational book of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cannot be dismissed so easily.

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...Terryl Givens, a Mormon and a professor of literature and religion at the University of Richmond, notes that The Book of Mormon has not undergone much if any scrutiny by scholars outside the faith.

"The story of its coming forth is too fantastical for non-Mormons to overcome," he told Religion News Service.

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If the book is less likely to find its way into non-Mormon hands, it may turn out to be useful for the faithful, particularly those confused by The Book of Mormon...

Too few Mormons really understand their bedrock book, Bennett says, and many use it merely as a "theological version of Bartlett's," a source of quotes for church talks.

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Some church members have told Bennett they are uncomfortable to learn there are unresolved "problems" with The Book of Mormon.

For instance, he doesn't have an answer for why Moroni, the last author of the book and the angel who purportedly showed the plates to Smith, would use words about charity that are almost identical to those uttered by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians in the New Testament...

"They [his own critics] say, 'One of our own should not be pointing these things out in case the critics have missed them,' " Bennett says.

But Bennett says, to remain credible, he had to put even the unanswerable arguments into his book.

[Safrguns]

Yes, fortunately he is at least willing to talk... even though it’s like talking to a wall.

Good point on getting him to explain it. He tends to delve into areas that are not comprehensible to any human being... like space-time theory and different definitions/descriptions of the heavens... celestial... terrestrial... blah blah blah.

Yes... pure emotion.

Tonight I think i’ll try to get him to explain to me where man’s sinful nature resides... in the heart or in the mind.

we’ll see where that one goes.