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Consider Jewish and early Christian apocrypha.
These are dubious writings not without merit. Many apocryphal
stories can be found in the Catholic Bible. Mormons too invent
apocrypha. The Testaments movie is as beneficial and unreliable as
the Apocrypha.
Doctrine and Covenants 91:1-6;
states:
"VERILY, thus saith the Lord unto you concerning the Apocrypha-
There are many things contained therein that are true, and it is mostly
translated correctly.
There are many things contained therein that are not true, which are
interpolations by the hands of men.
Verily, I say unto you, that it is not needful that the Apocrypha should be
translated.
Therefore, whoso readeth it, let him understand, for the Spirit manifesteth
truth;
And whoso is enlightened by the Spirit shall obtain benefit
therefrom;
And whoso received not by the Spirit, cannot be benefited. Therefore it is
not needful that it should be translated. Amen."
As you study the Book of Mormon, you will notice
that the sacred text nowhere mentions monkeys, palm trees or hewn stone
pyramids; all of which feature in the Testaments' fictional story.
Years before the making of the popular Mormon movie, Dr. Hugh Nibley
observed:
“Blinded …Book of Mormon students have declared
themselves “not interested” in the drab and commonplace remains of our lowly
Indians. But in all the Book of Mormon we look in vain for anything that
promises majestic ruins.” (An Approach to the Book of Mormon
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Melchizedek Priesthood manual (1957), appendix section titled “Looking
for the Wrong Things”, pp. 440-441)
Mormon Times quotes Kieth Merrill. The filmmaker explains why The Testaments movie should not be viewed as
an authoritative depiction of the Book of Mormon's New World
setting:
LDS
filmmaker says Book of Mormon set in North America
By Sharon Haddock
Mormon Times
Saturday, Oct. 03, 2009
MIDWAY, Utah -- LDS filmmaker Kieth Merrill
says he picked the background for "The Testaments" by default, and if he had
it to do over, he would have sought locations in North America rather than
Central and South America...
"I'm the guy who made the biggest, most expensive film (The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints) has ever made, and I put it in the wrong
place."
Merrill said the common notion that the Mayan and Aztec
peoples and other such civilizations known to have lived in Central America ... influenced his choice of jungle
location. (He ultimately filmed "The Testaments" on the Hawaiian
island of Kauai after roaming the jungles of the Yucatan.)
...
Meldrum and other researchers argue that the Nephites and Lamanites lived in
the same basic area of the United States
where the LDS Church was founded.
Merrill said when he was asked to make the new film about Christ, LDS Church
leaders never designated where to film. In fact, President James E. Faust,
second counselor in the First Presidency at the time, told him specifically
not to shoot footage with recognizable landmarks in the background for fear
church members would assume that whatever landscape was portrayed would be
accepted as the prevailing truth...
Merrill said,"...
I suggest a re-reading of the Book of Mormon and see if you don't discover a
new perspective."
Vincent Coon
וִינְסֶנט כּוּן
© Copyright 2012
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