Thanks for the detailed report from the fireside. Terryl Givens is one of the most engaging and thoughtful LDS scholars around.
I would like to clarify one issue in the thread, however. I am still a believer (in fact, I'm currently serving in a stake presidency), and I most certainly think that the Book of Mormon is historical. In writing my book for Oxford, I tried to leave some room for non-Mormons to engage seriously with the contents of the Book of Mormon from the perspectives of literature, world scripture, and religious studies. Even so, reviewers at the press complained that I took Nephite history far too seriously. In academic contexts, polarizing issues such as historicity can sometimes be temporarily bracketed, but when I speak in church or go out with the missionaries, I am more than happy to bear testimony that the Book of Mormon is exactly what it claims to be.
Grant Hardy
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