Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormons

Rating:
Summary: Continued excellence since 1985.
Review: Dr. Sorenson, along with FARMS, theories the most logical setting for the BoM by keeping its time and changing its space. Not since the discovery of the Joseph Smith Papyri has a LDS work been so penetrating as An Ancient American Setting. This book remains to be the cornerstone of the yet complete scientific translation of the Book of Mormon.

Rating:
Summary: Food for thought!
Review: This book is fun to read. Do not try to read this book as proof of anything, but as a book to help you imagine what the setting for the Book of Mormon *might* have been like. While it does offer evidence and support of the Book of Mormon's authenticity, it doesn't try to prove anything, but to educate and inspire imagination. I found by reading this book that many of my own assumptions about the Book of Mormon setting were probably wrong, and that they were just that- my own assumptions. For instance, many people assume that the Lehi party landed on a basically deserted continent. But really that isn't implied anywhere in the Book of Mormon. In fact, it mentions several times about others in the land around them; nevertheless the fact that the scripture is more concerned with their immediate group than other tribes causes many, myself included, to assume that they were basically alone. This book made me rethink a lot of these types of assumptions, and helped me to associate the characters, traditions, customs and geography of the Book of Mormon with realistic models to better understand what they were all about.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent and provocative insights to the Book of Mormon.
Review: This book really prompted me to think about and reconceptualize many of the assumptions I held about Book of Mormon geography and study. It was inspiring to develop a deeper understanding of the people in the Book of Mormon, and answered many questions. It's well researched and doesn't pretend to be decisive in its conclusions. Definitely the most authoritive book on the subject of Book of Mormon geography and a must read for all interested in the subject.