I think MacKay uses lots of big words and concepts that would elude the average TBM. He actually reveals a lot of historical facts, but he also coats it with the apologist's paint brush with statements like "These things have always been in the publications." This is the common apologist method of putting the burden on the member: that they have no real excuse for not knowing about these things. A couple of Ensign articles in the 70s does not an informed membership make!
Another purpose of his book is to answer "How does this material culture actually create a theology in Mormonism?" Perhaps he's suggesting that our religious theology is an evolution of ideas and the artifacts upon which we place superstitious beliefs? Our Mormon progenitors participated in transformative acts that gave relative functionality and importance to things like stones; that does make sense to me as long as you take out the literal deity parts.
The big question of the day seems to be about the mysterious breastplate. So far we know it fits under a handkerchief, but was never used for anything. Guess that's one that failed to have enough transformatives acts to bring it into theological importance.
It seems MacKay lays out the events and usage of the stones and their importance as a perfectly logical part of the restoration. Joseph starting out his mission with local cultural artifacts and a set of beliefs in the super natural, upon which God can then place further light and knowledge. Again the apologist play: You see, it's just another way God works with what he has available. You can weave whatever you damn well please into your narrative and make it work; even angles with swords telling you to be a pedophile.
Well now...don't forget to Ponderize the crap out of it while you are at it!"If we are to understand seer stones in the material culture of Mormonism, we are going to have to give answers that are theological. We are going to have to take it more serious that just describing what's in the historical documents. We are going to have to theologize and figure out what this really means rather than what someone was describing it to be."
If this is what it's going to take in order for an LDS scholar, let alone a TBM, to grapple with the true purpose and use seer stones...that's more than a summer Olympics worth of mental gymnastics IMO. And where are the Mormon prophets, seers and regulators in all of this theologizing? I guess they will just wait for the next briefing from one of their research cronies to give them the slide show presentation, then they can all nod and agree on the next policy change. Don't expect any answers from the pulpit any time soon.
At the end of the day, listing to guys like this trying to explain all the craziness of how the restoration really played out, with sticks and stones and non-existent bones...I see very clearly why our past leaders scrubbed the narrative and canonized one first vision account; because they could not make sense of it either!
Seems like this guy is doing well, selling his books. I don't plan to donate.
