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Quest for the Gold Plates

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Thomas Ferguson was, according to Stan Larson, an earnest, if not zealous young lawyer who was determined to "prove" the authenticity of the Book of Mormon by virtue of archeology. He was not the first to do so, nor was he the last, and indeed, archeological "proof" continues to surface among church members. What he found during his Quest was that the evidence he was certain he could find turned out to be more problematic than he ever dreamed. So much so that he became convinced that it would never be found...indeed, COULD never be found.

What rocked his faith, however, was not the lack of archeological evidence, for there were always still possibilities why they hadn't found it yet. What collapsed Ferguson's faith was the dubious authenticity of the Book of Abraham once the original Joseph Smith papyri were found in a musuem in New York. Ferguson had the papyri translated by reputable Egyptologists, only to learn that the so-called source of the Book of Abraham was nothing more than common funerary papyri from a common Egyption mummy. His research proved, much to his dismay, that Joseph Smith had no knowledge of hieroglyphics, nor could he have interpreted the writings or facsimilies in any legitimate way and produce the Book of Abraham. From Ferguson's point of view, it could only have been a fiction from the mind of Joseph Smith. With this realization, coupled with the gross lack of ANY supportive archeological evidence, Ferguson concluded that the Book of Mormon was a similar fiction...the product of an imaginative genius, but probably not the divinely inspired and protected record that he had previously believed.

The rest of the story is how Ferguson tried to walk a double life, living out the duration of his life as an active, though unusual member of the church, singing in the choir, attending the meetings and socials he chose to, for the purpose of maintaining some ties with the people and the "fraternity" he loved. He became convinced that religion is of itself a healthy exercise for a moral society, and he had concluded that the Mormon Church had as worthy a formula for good as any. So he maintained his affiliation, but not without certain sacrifices.

To me, the most inspirational part of the story is the courage it requires to undertake an honest quest, and be changed by what you find regardless of how much it challenges what you had previously believed. That is an essential element in all human growth and development, and were it not for courageous men like Ferguson, (or Galileo, or Einstein, or Darwin, or others) who are willing to question their own beliefs and study objectively what they observe, then civilization would never advance. Thomas Stuart Ferguson is a shining and intriguing example of one who was willing to make the quest, regardless of the outcome.

In an ideal world you'd expect that any subject could be coolly and dispassionately examined and judged according to the facts. We don't live in such a world, though, and this is abundantly clear upon reading Stan Larson's book "Quest for the Gold Plates."

This is a book about one man's search for truth. Thomas Stuart Ferguson was a staunch Mormon with a dream to show to the world that Mormonism is true, and that the Book of Mormon is literally the history of a vast ancient Amerindian civilization. According to the Book of Mormon there were three migrations from the Old World to the New. The first migration happened sometime around the fabled tower of Babel described in the Old Testament. The second two migrations happened within a few years of each other, and involved Hebrew migrations from the area around Jerusalem roughly 600 BCE.

According to the Book of Mormon, the people involved in these migrations established huge civilizations that stretched from sea to sea. They wrote extensively using Hebrew and Egyptian, domesticated horses and cattle, cultivated many Old World plants, traveled in chariots, and smelted many metals, including iron and steel.

The Book of Mormon, ostensibly written by these civilizations, came to us from the prophet Joseph Smith, who founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). Not too surprisingly, however, the golden plates are not available for scientific examination - the same angle who gave them to Joseph for "translation" took them back when the book was complete. Thus giving us the title of Larson's book.

The Book of Mormon is so descriptive and unambiguous about the extent and type of ancient Amerindian civilizations it describes that it practically screams for corroborating archaeological evidence to support its assertions. As a young man, Ferguson felt foreordained as the person responsible for finding this archaeological information and bringing it to the world - proving Mormonism is true and opening the floodgates for converts into Joseph Smith's religion.

Ferguson was unrelenting, and he moved in high circles within the Mormon Church. He co-authored "Ancient American and the Book of Mormon" with Milton R. Hunter (a General Authority in the Mormon Church) and on October 1952 Ferguson organized the New World Archaeological Foundation (NWAF) in California. Early on NWAF performed some valuable archaeological research, and employed some eminent non-Mormon scientists. This was part of Ferguson's plan, as he intended the archaeological evidence for the Book of Mormon to be of the highest academic quality. Eventually, however, the Mormon Church lost its enthusiasm for funding a strictly academic organization, especially as the promised evidence for the Book of Mormon failed year after year to appear. In 1960 the First Presidency of the LDS Church announced that NWAF would be reorganized, and its continued support from the LDS Church would come through church-owned BYU with Howard W. Hunter, an apostle of the Mormon Church, appointed as chairman in January 1961, and Ferguson as secretary.

Ferguson began his quest with rhetoric of the highest moral caliber. He described his quest as a search for truth. He was firm in his conviction that through his work the latter-day prophet Joseph Smith would be vindicated at last, and all the world compelled to admit that the Book of Mormon was literal history, and by implication that Mormonism was God's restored church on earth. As the years passed, however, and the expected evidence stubbornly refused to materialize, Ferguson became less brash. Eventually he came to recognize that the archaeological evidence he looked for did not exist. In 1993 Michael D. Coe, professor of anthropology at Yale University, summarized the situation by saying:

"I have seen no archaeological evidence before or since that [1973] date which would convince me that it [the Book of Mormon] is anything but a fanciful creation by an unusually gifted individual living in upstate New York in the early nineteenth century." [page 70].

Though Ferguson began his quest as a quest for truth, once he found the truth he quickly abandoned his earlier plans to disseminate it. Larson shows clearly through letters and documented conversations that Ferguson eventually reached the same conclusion as Coe. Yet while the young Ferguson expected people in other religions to abandon their faith for the light and truth of Mormonism, the old Ferguson proved too inadequate to show the same conviction to truth. Though he believed the Book of Mormon is fiction, Ferguson simply found it impossible to let go the social fabric of his Mormon upbringing. He described the Mormon Church as a great fraternity, and a worthwhile organization in its own right. He seemed to find a measure of smugness in knowing that it is all a hoax, but not wanting to spoil the party for all the common people who find Mormonism so important in their lives.

In this regard I find myself completely at odds with Larson's closing comment:

"His [Ferguson's] legacy is a commitment to the search for truth."

No statement could be more inaccurate. In the end, Ferguson showed that his commitment is to fraternity and brotherhood. He saw the truth, but found himself unable to proclaim it. Ferguson is simply another of a long list of men who had the opportunity to speak out and be heard - who could have made a difference by standing up for truth, but decided instead to keep a secret rather than upset his life and disillusion the common folk. For me, Ferguson represents a tragedy.

Clearly written and immaculately referenced, Stan Larson's book is essential for anyone concerned with the reality of whether or not the Book of Mormon is true. It represents the story of one man's search for truth, and tragic failure to embrace it. Perhaps some good can yet come, however, if Larson's book can inspire other's to accept the truth Ferguson discovered, and let commitment to truth overcome commitment to fraternity.

Duwayne Anderson August 25, 1999

Leaving the faith of one's parents is often a very difficult thing. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be in Thomas Stuart Ferguson's position. Here we have a man who devoted so much in the way of time and treasure to prove that the Book of Mormon was true. He wrote many books defending the Book of Mormon from an archeological point of view. Yet he came to see that archeology and history will not vindicate the book of Mormon. He lost faith in the Book of Mormon completely.

I had the good fortune some years past to meet the author of this book. He gave a presentation on his findings with regards to Ferguson. I came away from that presentation somewhat amazed at the chameoleon nature of Thomas Stuart Ferguson. He had no faith in the Book of Mormon and even indicated so to Jerald and Sandra Tanner. Yet, he still continued to attend church regularly. To those who had questions about the Book of Mormon, he could give answers in either direction. To faithful Mormons seeking faith building material, he could and would give out much information that would confirm them in their faith. To Mormons questioning the historical veracity of the Book of Mormon, he could and would give out much information that would demonstrate the historical and archeological problems involved in the Book of Mormon.

He was a complex character. However, his story is very much worth telling. He is fortunate to have found a sympathetic biographer in Stan Larson.

I picked up Stan Larson's "Quest for the Gold Plates" after reading the recommendations for it from other readers at this site. I read it in two nights -- I simply could not set it down. With a readable style and a suprisingly fair view of all three, pro, anti, and non Mormon views of the current events it contains a great deal of information not only about Thomas Stuart Ferguson's archaeological search for Book of Mormon cities and ruins -- but also about the rediscovery of the Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri - it's relation to the Book of Abraham, and also a great deal of information on Book of Mormon archaeological opinions and statistics in general.

A very scholarly work that includes a _LOT_ of documentation. (i.e. 10 pages of the 40 page first chapter are end-note references to the 118 footnotes made in that chapter alone.)

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject - Mormon - Anti-Mormon - Non-Mormon, as well as Novice - Intermediate - and Advanced in in their knowledge of Archaeology and it's activity in Mesoamerica.

How many people have grappled with a problem earnestly seeking a particular answer to that problem, only to conclude the answer they sought is not the correct one? Thomas Stewart Ferguson did and rather than run from what he concluded was the truth, he dealt with it openly, but in a manner that was designed not to hurt the people closest to him.

While educated to be an attorney, Ferguson from an early age determined that as an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons)it was his destiny to do archaelogical research that would once and for all, prove the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. Accordingly, Ferguson organized the New World Archaeology Foundation and began excavating a number of cites in the Yucatan area of Mexico where he theorized the Nephites and Lamanites (peoples' spoken of in the Book of Mormon) lived. Ferguson began the task with great enthusiasm. He was finally able to enlist official church support for his project after there were a couple of ambiguous findings at one or two of his "digs" in Central America.

In the late 1960's, Ferguson's enthusiasm began to wane. All the excavating being done by his foundation was failing to find anything new that would help "authenticate" the Book of Mormon. Worse, new discoveries were shedding light on other LDS scripture, the Book of Abraham. In short, the original papyri from which this scripture was "translated" came to light. Modern Egyptologists who examined these documents concluded they were from an entirely different time period and about an entirely different subject than Joseph Smith claimed when he "translated" this scripture.

At some point, Ferguson lost his faith and began looking at other questions. However, he was very sensitive to the fact that many of his family members were true believers in the church. He refused to become an advocate against the church, believing very strongly that organized religion (whether true or not)had a valid role to play in society. The book obtained and quotes from written correspondence from him to other people about matters of faith. Ferguson never encouraged anyone to leave the LDS faith who was happy. He focused strictly on what evidence showed about historical and scientific claims of the church.

In the end, we are presented with the evidence that caused a bright, committed member of the church to leave. We are also presented with the portrait of a man of integrity and conscience who squarely faced the fact that he got an answer to perhaps his most important question in life--and that answer was something totally different than what he anticipated.

The book is well worth reading.

This is an excellent book, treating the heroic but ultimately doomed quest of one man for support for his beliefs.

This book, as described in the Preface "focuses on the efforts of Thomas Stuart Ferguson to verify the authenticity of the Book of Mormon through archaeology." The story in fact shows not only Ferguson's failure to identify a single Book of Mormon city, mountain, or river, but ends in Ferguson's disillusionment with Joseph Smith and his loss of faith in Smith as an alleged prophet, not only because of the years wasted in central America looking for evidence that wasn't there, but also by Ferguson's realization that the exposure by renowned Egyptologists of the "Book of Abraham" papyri, accepted as canonical by the LDS church, as nothing more than pagan funeral texts, proved the supposed prophet Smith very much in error, and certainly unable to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Earlier in his search, Ferguson had apparently encouraged himself with the publication in 1958 of "One Fold and one Shepherd" as described on page 59 of this book. This earlier work was supposed to present evidence of the antiquity of the Book of Mormon, but, as reported in the book, in actual fact gave evidence only of 16th century post-Conquest Spanish Catholic misssionary influence, even down to the Catholic doctrine of the Trinity ( whch is rejected by Mormonism). So it was quite meaningless for Ferguson to cite this sort of material as evidence for the antiquity of the Book of Mormon. That, and the "shopping list fallacy" mentioned on page 62 (that is, the idea that parallels between cultures, such as idols, sacrifices, slaves, are supposedly significant is erroneous because the parallels are either not complex or not uniques to the two cultures under consideration) effectively destroy any claim of archaeological support for the Book of Mormon.

At the end of the book is given a list of tests for the Book of Mormon, under the categories Plant Life, Animal Life, Metallurgy, Script, and Others. It is quite noteworthy to see that the evidence required to substantiate the Book of Mormon is found failing in every category.

I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who is Mormon or to anyone who is considering converting to the LDS church, as it contains information that missionaries will not readily admit.

I bought this book while reading and studying the Book of Mormon. I was intrigued by the various aspects of ancient life that Joseph Smith describes in the Book of Mormon from their cities to their great battles to even their coinage, food, and animals (including elephents, horses, sheep, cows). I wondered who was right since I have been taught by non-LDS antropologist that none of the above listed in the Book of Mormon has been found.

Then I bought this book. This book is both the story and the findings of Stuart Ferguson in his search for archeological remains of various Book of Mormon listings. He begins his search in Central America (the most common area believed by Mormons to be the site of the Book of Mormon accounts). The books is neither pro-Mormon nor anti-Mormon but is simply Ferguson's own pursuit of the truth. What he finds will amaze you!

The book also deals with Ferguson's desire to know the truth concerning the papyrus that Joseph Smith claimed to have translated from Egyptian into the Books of Abraham and Joseph (although he did not publish the Book of Joseph). Modern Egyptianologist have since disproven Smith and his "translation" of the papyrus but Ferguson was bent on disproving the modern findings in favor of Smith. Again, his findings will amaze you.

Whether you are a Mormon or not, this book will offer great insight into not accepting the standard answers for faith but willing to search out evidences for your faith and religion to see if they are objectable and clear. You will be glad you read this book.

A rather "Raiders of the Lost Ark"-esque title. This is actually the story of a man who slowly lost *enthusiasm* in his search for historical support for the Book of Mormon, but not *faith* until the Book of Abraham problems of the mid-1960s shot his Balloon of Faith full of holes. While the story is of general interest to students of contemporary LDS faith history, this is really one man's story. The four stars are for the excellent documentation and the fleshing out of that one man's character. Still, both faithful and faithless can come away with their beliefs fully intact...

A great book on this subject! First rate job on the research end of the book! Having done some research over the past 20 years from time to time on this subject, the findings of the author here are of no suprise. I find the honesty and frank candor of Mr. Ferguson (in most places)refreshing.

The book gives Pro-Mormon, Anti-Mormon, and Non-Mormon view points as well as some wonderful documentation. I consider this to be an important work for anyone who is giving consideration to the subject of Meso-American archaeology no matter what your religious beliefs are.

The author started out like a knight on a sacred mission to find the truth but, discovers that the truth is not what he envisioned it to be. His loyalty seems to have sided more toward the Mormon church and the fraternity it has become to him instead of the truth. It is interseting to note the change in zeal and direction and the struggle that the Mr. Furgeson documents. I will say that the research that has been presented in this work still leaves me in agreement with In 1993 Michael D. Coe, professor of anthropology at Yale University, summarized the situation by saying:

"I have seen no archaeological evidence before or since that [1973] date which would convince me that it [the Book of Mormon] is anything but a fanciful creation by an unusually gifted individual living in upstate New York in the early nineteenth century." [page 70].

By all means, anyone who is doing serious study in this area would be greatly benefited by reading this book!

First, Stan Larson paints a picture of Ferguson that you will never forget. He's makes Ferguson a man you want to know and talk to. When he reported the death of Ferguson, I felt like I had lost a friend. Second, Ferguson is the prototype of so many in the Church who are not afraid to look at critical evaluations of church origins and history. (Many just won't look.)When the manuscript for the Book of Abraham was found and reported to be from the Book of the Dead, it was the "nail in the coffin" for Ferguson in light of his inability to find Book of Mormon lands or cultures. It was equally upsetting to many in the Church. Still it seems he hung on, hoping for more positive evaluations and discoveries that would tie him back to the faith. Like Ferguson, many "sing" in his choir."