30 years ago today - Feb 6, 1993

At a meeting of the B. H. Roberts Society, David P. Wright, assistant professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at Brandeis University and former professor at Brigham Young University until his dismissal, gives a talk "Do What is Right, Let the Consequence Follow: Telling the Truth about Our Scriptures." He describes his researches and concludes "A critical study of the Book of Mormon, as I have indicated, shows that Joseph Smith was its author, . . ." He concludes, "The spirit will generate in us commitment to our community, a sense of the relevance of our developing religious tradition, and a perception of the divine in our own and our spiritual ancestors' history But reasoned critical study must be allowed to guide us in our search for historical understanding and matters related thereto." Wright is excommunicated the next year for publishing such results of his research.