Reliability book of mormon

In the last chapter we saw that the bible is reliable, being textually pure and verifiably accurate in many places. These claims have historically been taken on faith. Please only answer this if you have lots of experience with christian and mormon teachings, expecially mainstream christians who became mormon and mormons who became. Facts on the book of mormon witnesses part 1 mormons. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents. Dec 15, 2014 why the book of mormon is the great american novel when a jewish author sets off on quest to understand the fantastical foundational text of mormonism, he ends up learning more about himself. The story of the church of jesus christ in the latter days, vol. Concerns of the historicity and origin of the book of mormon. Apr 01, 2017 these are five problems with the book of mormon, and to doubt its authenticity as an ancient document. Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from august 2014 webarchive template wayback links all articles lacking reliable references. For example, critics of mormonism have shown convincing proof that the book of mormon is a synthesis of earlier works written by other men, of the vivid imaginings of joseph smith, and of plagiarisms from the king james bible. How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of.

Several miraculous events occurred as part of the coming forth of the book of mormon that provide evidence that it was translated by the power of god see saints. Gunnell goes on to quote a letter written in 1844 by phineas young to brigham young, martin harris is a firm believer in shakerism, says his testimony is greater than it was of the book of mormon martin harris witness and benefactor to the book of mormon, wayne c. Reasoning from the scriptures with the mormons 9781565073289 by ron rhodes. It affirms, we believe the bible to be the word of god as far as it is translated correctly. In the face of contradicting evidences, mormonisms claim of divine revelation seems less and less plausible. The book of mormon plays a primary role in mormon evangelistic efforts. The first edition of the book of mormon featured two testimonials. Those who rely solely on scholarship reject revelation and focus on a limited number of issues. Lds the mormon church has copied immense sources from the whole world.

Feb 05, 2017 the book of mormon is a comingofage story of two young, extremely likeable mormons on their mission to spread the lords word. The book of mormon teaches that little children are not capable of sin because they do not have a sinful nature moroni 8. The mormon claim to be the only true church the reliability of mormon prophets the authenticity of the book of mormon jesus supposed visit to ancient america the mormon view of god, jesus, and the holy spirit. Not only is mormonism for dummies very easy to read, but it is also thorough and open in the topics considered. Elder price and elder cunningham terrific international leads. And, with more study, the books sturdiness and richness and the. Excluding the bible and similar writing, can you prove to an atheist or to someone that is agnostic that god exists. But they can neither prove nor disprove the authenticity of the book of mormon through their secular evidence and methods. Barley is used in the book of mormon as a monetary equivalent.

In major problems of mormonism jerald and sandra tanner examine historical and theological difficulties faced by the church of latter day saints lds. The book of mormon makes reference to noahs flood and tower of babel in a way that assumes the historic interpretation of these. It undermines the claims of joseph smith related to other allegedly divinely inspired translations, including the book of mormon. Strikingly, these are among the main themes explicitly stated in 3 nephi 9.

One can easily object to the influence of isaiah 52, noted above, as source for dustrelated imagery and language in the book of mormon. Since they claim the standard works have a greater explanatory scope than the bible. In part 1, after discussing the book of mormon s clever use of isaiah 52 in the context of several ancient hebrew motifs, i turn to the deuteroisaiah problem. Three witnesses oliver cowdery, david whitmer, and martin harris declared an angel of god appeared to them and showed them the book of mormon plates and they heard the voice of the lord pronounce that. How does the book of mormon help date the first christmas. Why the book of mormon is the great american novel when a jewish author sets off on quest to understand the fantastical foundational text of. Serious study of the book of mormon by latterday saints is flourishing today as never before. I offer the following comments for potential readers. The contradictions between the book of mormon and the bible constitute a most serious obstacle to accepting the book of mormon as latterday scripture supplemental to the bible. How did joseph smith bring forth the book of mormon through the power of god. It is a record of gods dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the americas, and contains, as does the bible, the fullness of the everlasting gospel. Artifacts found in jerusalem dated to the 8th7th century bc depict wingedserpents which scholars believe represent the fiery serpents mentioned in the bible. In fact, a close reading demonstrates that the book of mormon is more consistent with this kind of oral composition than with years of careful redaction by the propheteditor mormon. Casey nicholaw the drowsy chaperone has staged the.

Jul 08, 2011 he had little reason to renounce the book of mormon for its message was consistent with the restorationist mindset of many people in the nineteenth century. For the reliability of the contents of the lds keystone scripture we are entirely dependent on joseph smiths testimony. The book of mormons most spectacular recorded event was a postresurrection appearance of jesus christ himself among the nephite people 3 nephi 11. In addition, the very content of the book of mormon makes it impossible to accept it as divine revelation. Supporters of the book of mormon claim it uses chiasmusa figure of speech utilizing inverted parallelismand claim it is evidence to support the books ancient origin. Why the book of mormon is the great american novel the. Both the bible and the book of mormon declare themselves to be ancient, historical, and reliable rules of faiththe very word of god. As a latterday saint, i am not only dutybound but personally grateful to accept and present data from the book of mormon, the genuine historical reliability of which i am both spiritually and materially convinced, to corroborate the evidence of the new. Jul 08, 2011 the book of mormon and the other standard works are in complete contrast with the bibles superb historical reliability. But barley was thought to only exist in europe in ancient times.

Theorized usage of spaldings work in book of mormon. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. In order to believe in the book of abraham, you must again take josephs word for it. The mormon church the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Many examples of ancient writings on gold plates have since been found in sites around the world.

The book of mormon is a comingofage story of two young, extremely likeable mormons on their mission to spread the lords word. The historicity of the book of mormon religious studies. How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of mormonism jwallace june 20, 2014other worldviews, writings 33,659 views ive repeatedly described my simultaneous investigation of christianity and mormonism. The authors are latterday saints mormons, but they do not shy away from controversial aspects of the faith such as polygamy, the historical reliability of the book of mormon, and the mountain meadows massacre. In terms of reliability of the text of the book of mormon, i think its almost. Early church authors, including benjamin winchester, william smith, w. Today, mormons use the book of mormon in much the same way that christians use and study the bible. Tower of babel as the event where humans dispersed and different languages were created. Thus the lds contends that the book of mormon is another testament of jesus christ. The coming forth of the book of mormon the church of. The book of mormon claims that jesuss atonement provided for the immortality for all people.

Despite the efforts of mormons to restore the reliability of the book of abraham, it appears to be a demonstrably false book, errantly translated and misrepresented as scripture by the lds church. It contains thousands of words from king james version 1611. The introduction tells you that the book of mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the bible. In the book of mormon, nephi tells the biblical story of the fiery serpents, but adds an interesting detail. Many members of the latter day saint movement claim that the book of mormon is historically. The only bible that joseph smith relied on was the king james version. Mormonism seems to be the opposite of the bible in several ways. What does the book of mormon mean when it says that plain and precious things have been. The book of mormon claims to be a translation of ancient writing on gold plates. Oliver cowdery and joseph smith taught this clearly.

The book of mormon was written by joseph smith in march 1830. Book of mormon difficulties, contradictions and explanations. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints and other denominations in the lds restorationist movement have taught that native americans are descendents of three groups of ancient israelites who came to the new world. In part 1, after discussing the book of mormons clever use of isaiah 52 in the context of several ancient hebrew motifs, i turn to the deuteroisaiah problem. For readers unfamiliar with the authors, the tanners are famous or infamous exlds members. Richard lloyd anderson, the credibility of the book of mormon translators, in book of mormon authorship. How the book of abraham exposes the false nature of mormonism. Another way of explaining the strength of the positive position on the historicity of the book of mormon is to point out that we who are its proponents are content with a standoff on this question. Overview of book of mormon geography and church history. The historicity of the book of mormon religious studies center. The book of mormon s most spectacular recorded event was a postresurrection appearance of jesus christ himself among the nephite people 3 nephi 11. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Do you know how to show a mormon person the difference in reliability between the bible and the book of mormon. Is the bible a book given by god to man, or is it a book produced by manand merely by manabout god.

These include endowments, celestial marriage, and specific tithing. The book of mormon describes migrations of people from the middle east to central america, and further describes some features of their civilizations in the new world. In this chapter we will examine the book of mormon to see how it holds up to the. At first i was surprised that there would be an article entitled mounting evidence for the book of mormon on the official church website. The book of mormon is supposed to be the account of people who came from the middleeast to the americas.

Book of mormon archeological andor historical validity. But to achieve exaltation or godhood it is available only to mormons who obey the teachings specific to the book of mormon. The book of mormon claims to be a history of ancient peoples inhabiting central america until 421 a. And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the lamb, from the jews unto the gentiles, thou seest the formation of that great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches. Mar 10, 2008 i believe that the bible is gods inspired word. The book of mormon was mocked for claiming to have been written on gold plates.

Exact word for word quotations, some of great length. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi, who claimed that it had been. May 22, 2017 in the book of mormon, nephi tells the biblical story of the fiery serpents, but adds an interesting detail. The issue of the historicity of the book of mormon highlights the difference between those who rely solely on scholarship and those who rely on revelation, faith, and scholarship. Religious studies center, brigham young university, 1982, 237. Is there any proof that this book is also inspired. The coming forth of the book of mormon the church of jesus. Com the authors of this definitive work, three historians connected with the church of latter day saints, explore these and other unanswered questions more deeply than any writers to date and unlike previous apologists for the church, they offer a scholarly, evenhanded analysis of the massacre.

Joseph smith claimed that the book of mormon was the most correct book in the world, and that a man could get closer to god by reading it than any other book. Contradictions between the book of mormon and the bible. These plates were supposedly written 1,400 years ago and detailed the history of the jewish nephites from 600 b. The credibility of the book of mormon translators religious. The situation is even worse for the book of abraham, which joseph smith claimed to have translated from some papyrus scrolls. The book of mormon and the other standard works are in complete contrast with the bibles superb historical reliability. This angel then helped smith translate the work from reformed egyptian characters into english. Dec 23, 2015 despite the efforts of mormons to restore the reliability of the book of abraham, it appears to be a demonstrably false book, errantly translated and misrepresented as scripture by the lds church. When they say directly support, they typically mean that they are looking for a direct corroboration, such as the presence of the name nephi or zarahemla in association with ancient american archaeological data. Lds missionaries encourage prospects to read the book of mormon and pray to receive a spiritual witness or testimony that it is the word of god based on a statement toward the end of the book of mormon in moroni 10. He had little reason to renounce the book of mormon for its message was consistent with the restorationist mindset of many people in the nineteenth century. How mormons view the reliability of the holy bible.

Witnesses of the book of mormon church of jesus christ. Apr 22, 2016 in fact, a close reading demonstrates that the book of mormon is more consistent with this kind of oral composition than with years of careful redaction by the propheteditor mormon. To explain if the book of mormon is reliable, you have to read the book itself. Some modern scholars question the validity of the eyewitness accounts of this second manuscript. This is a question that popped into my head as i watched the newest book of mormon video about the wellknown story of alma and amulek. Smith claims that the prophet who last contributed to the work returned to earth as an angel and told him where to find it. It is additional revelation, and its about a people after the times of the bible. It is a common claim by critics that there is absolutely no archaeological evidence to support the book of mormon. There it is againthe fullness of the everlasting gospel. If the book is accurate, archaeologists would expect to find numerous pieces of hard evidence in central america that confirm the presence of these societies. Dec 21, 2016 as a latterday saint, i am not only dutybound but personally grateful to accept and present data from the book of mormon, the genuine historical reliability of which i am both spiritually and materially convinced, to corroborate the evidence of the new testament and the other avenues explored. Joseph smith said that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to god by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book history of the church, vol. Please only answer this if you have lots of experience with christian and mormon teachings, expecially mainstream christians who became mormon and mormons who.

Mormon archaeological argument that proves the historical accuracy of b of m. The question of the authority of the bible and its divine inspiration can be stated very simply. If you only want to look at official records, and disregard dna, then i doubt you would currently find a better collection. Solomon spalding february 20, 1761 october 20, 1816 was the author of two related texts. Ive heard that mormons have their own inspired book. The reliability of mormon history produced by the lds church fair aug, 6, 2009. The fourpart investigative template i used to examine the reliability of the christian gospels and the book of mormon caused me to embrace the former while. That this statement implies some greater reliability for the book of mormon than for the bible is confirmed in the lds scriptural text articles of faith, composed by joseph smith in 1843. It tells of the jaredites, people from the tower of babel who came to central america but perished because of their own immorality. These practitioners of socalled higher criticism raise the question of whether the book of mormon, which our prophets have put forward as the preeminent. The opponents of the historicity of the book of mormon must prove that the people whose religious life it records did not live anywhere in the americas. The reliability of mormon history produced by the lds church. To me it does not make sense that god would only give revelation and have prophets on the earth during the historic biblical time, and no other time. Three witnesses oliver cowdery, david whitmer, and martin harris declared an angel of god appeared to them and showed them the book of mormon plates and they heard the voice of the lord pronounce that joseph smiths translation had been accomplished.