Review of our Sunday February 2nd, 2014 visit to the Utah Science and
Technology Arts Museum (also known as the Leonard Museum), in Salt Lake
City, Utah.
Currently on display is a Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit there, an exhibit which appears to be rotating around to various museums.
The admission price for the special exhibit is very high.
Here's what you'll see in side:
1. Sand on the floor.
2. Old pottery.
3. Old coins.
4. A few very small pieces of the scrolls, which are impossible to read or view in any reasonable way. Blown up images of the few pieces brought.
5. Staff who state that they believe in prayer.
6. A replica of the Jerusalem wailing wall (western temple wall), into which you can place a prayer paper, which will supposedly later be taken to Jerusalem.
7. A special Utah section about the Dead Sea Scrolls that talks about the contribution of Utahns - mainly talking about the involvement of the group FARMS (Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies - now the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at BYU), and strangely about the DNA work of Scott Woodward. FARMS and it's successor serve as a "scholarly" "scientific" apologetic instrument of the Mormon Church.
Mention of Scott Woodward's DNA work in the Utah section was particularly appalling. Where is the Lamanite DNA? Google plant geneticist Simon Southerton to find out - there is none. FARMS/Maxwell/BYU apologetic pseudoscience has no place in an honest science museum.
References:
DNA Genealogies of American Indians and the Book of Mormon
http://www.exmormon.org/whylft125.htm
Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church
http://www.amazon.com/Losing-Lost-Tribe-Native-Americans/dp/1560851813
Simon Southerton, DNA, Lamanites and the Book of Mormon
http://mormonstories.org/348-349-simon-southerton-dna-lamanites-and-the-book-of-mormon/
Dr. Southerton's blog:
http://simonsoutherton.blogspot.com
Science on prayer - as per a study paid for by a group who seeks in my view to otherwise distort science (Templeton Foundation):
Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Study_of_the_Therapeutic_Effects_of_Intercessory_Prayer
FARMS info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_for_Ancient_Research_and_Mormon_Studies
FARMS articles at the Mormon Curtain website:
http://www.mormoncurtain.com/topic_farms.html
Salamander Society article on FARMS:
http://www.salamandersociety.com/apologetics/
Shake-up hits BYU's Mormon studies institute
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/utes/54358137-78/mormon-institute-peterson-studies.html.csp
Review created February 3, 2014 - 7:11am, 7:24am, 11:27am to about noon
