Category: Book of Mormon Page 11 of 20

“Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon” Excerpt from moroni10.com

The Challenge of the “Book of Mormon”

If one scoffs at the explanation of the Book of Mormon, he is in so many words claiming it to be false: that it is a deceiving fraud formulated through the efforts and talents of a common man. Occasionally you hear someone say, “I could believe your Mormon Doctrine if I just didn’t have to swallow the story about Joseph Smith being a man of God and that he translated the Book of Mormon from some golden plates with he claimed he found on a hillside.” It is even possible that you, yourself, have doubted the story. 

What can be or is produced by one man, can always be duplicated by another man. The challenge the Book of Mormon makes to the world is that of duplication. Well, let us consider some facts or conditions that must be complied with in order for you or any one else to produce a similar record under comparable conditions. Because the book complies with everyone of the following conditions, and in order for you to produce a similar record, you must comply with the same conditions: 

• Write a history of ancient Tibet covering a period from 2200 BC to 400 AD. Why ancient Tibet? Because it is likely that you know no more about ancient Tibet than Joseph Smith (or anyone else) knew about ancient America.

  

• You’re 21 years of age. 
• You cannot be a college graduate. In fact you have had no more than three years of formal school education, and have spent your life in backwoods farming communities. 
• Your history must be written on the basis of what you now know. There was no library that held information for Joseph Smith. You must use none. There is to be no research of any kind. 
• Your book must be long, containing 522 pages with over 150 words per page and over 300,000 words from start to finish. It must contain 239 chapters. You must include in your book 54 chapters dealing with wars, 21 historical chapters, 55 chapters on visions and prophecies, and remember, when you begin to write visions and prophecies you must have your record agree meticulously with the Bible. You must write 71 chapters on doctrine and exhortation, and here too, you must check every statement with the scriptures or yours will be proven to be fraud. You must write 21 chapters on the ministry of Jesus Christ, and everything you claim He said and did and every testimony you write in your book about Him must agree absolutely with the New Testament. 
• Other than a few grammatical corrections, you must have no changes in the text. The first edition as you dictate it to your secretary must stand forever. 
• You must not write it yourself, you must dictate it to a scribe. You must sit on opposite sides of a curtain and never see each other as you speak and he/she writes. 
• After pauses for sleep and food, if you are dictating to a stenographer, you must never ask to have the last paragraph or last sentence read back to you. 
• This record is to contain the history of two distinct and separate nations, along with histories of different contemporary nations or groups of people. 
• You must describe their religious, economic, political, and social cultures and institutions. Cover every phase of their society, including the names of their coins. Your description of the cultures in the civilizations of which you will write about cannot be known about when you publish your manuscript. 
• Change your style of writing many times. Many ancient authors contributed to the Book of Mormon each with his own style. 
• Weave into your history the religion of Jesus Christ and the Pattern of Christian Living. 
• You must claim or announce that your “smooth narrative” is not fiction with moral value, but is true and sacred history. 
• Many of the facts, claims, ideas, and statements given as absolutely true in your writings must be entirely inconsistent with the prevailing beliefs of the world. Some of these worldly beliefs must prove to be a direct opposite of your claims. 
• Included in your narration will be authentic modes of travel; whether or not those ancient people used fire; descriptions of their clothing, crops, mourning customs, and types of government. You must invent about 280 new names (William Shakespeare in all his writings added approximately 30) that will stand up under scrutiny through the years as to their proper application and derivation. 
• You will have to use, properly, figures of speech, similes, metaphors, narration, exposition, description, oratory, epic lyric, and parables. 
• You must invite the ablest scholars and experts to examine the text with care, and you must strive diligently to see that your book gets into the hands of those eager to prove it a forgery, and who are most competent to expose every flaw in it. 
• Thorough investigation, scientific and historical evidence, and archaeological discovery for the next 125 years must verify its claims and prove detail after detail to be true, for many of the details you put in your history are still buried beneath the soil of Tibet. 
• You must publish it to every nation, kindred, tongue and people declaring it to be the word of God and another witness for the Lord Jesus Christ. 
• The book must not contain any absurd, impossible, or contradictory statements. Your history must not contain any statement that will contradict any other statement elsewhere in the volume. 
• Many theories and ideas as to its origin must arise, and after discovering and examining the facts, they must fall. You have claimed that your knowledge had come from a divine origin, and this claim continues to stand as the only possible explanation. The strength of this explanation must not decrease as time passes, but actually increases to the point where it becomes the only logical explanation. 
• Your record is to fulfill many Bible prophecies, even in the exact manner in which it shall come forth, to whom it will be delivered, it’s purposes, it’s accomplishments. 
• Call down an angel from heaven in the middle of the day and have him bear testimony to three honest, dignified citizens of your community that the record is the word of God. These witnesses must bear the angel’s testimony to the world, even to their death beds. You must put that testimony to the test by becoming an enemy to these men. 
• You must call out of heaven the voice of the Redeemer, to declare to the three witnesses that your record is true and that it is their responsibility to bear their testimonies to the world, and they must do so. 
• Eight other witnesses must testify to the world that they saw the ancient records in broad daylight and they handled them and felt the engravings thereon. 
  

• The first three and the second eight must bear their testimonies not for profit, not for gain, but under great personal sacrifice and severe persecution, even to their deaths. 
• Thousands of great men, intellectual giants, national and international personalities, and scholars for 125 years must accept your history and its teachings even to the point of laying down their lives rather than deny their testimony of it. 
• You must include within your record this strange but wonderful promise; “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, He will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.” 
• Millions must bear record to the world for the next 125 years that they know the record to be true because they put the promise to the test and round it to be true. The truth of it was manifested to them by the power of the Holy Ghost. 
• Over 80,000 competent salesmen must be so sold on your book that they gladly give up two years of their lives to take it to all parts of the world for distribution. They not only pay their own way during these years, but return bearing testimony that the time spent will remain as one of the highlights of their lives. They receive nothing in return for their efforts but the joy of having shared your book with others. 
• Your book must not only raise the standards of millions of people but do it in such a way that they become one of the great moral, ethical and dynamic marvels of the day. They must become world reknowned for this. 
• For the next 20 years you must watch those that follow you, your family, and the dearest of your loved ones persecuted, driven time after time from their homes, beaten, tortured, starved, frozen, and killed. Tens of thousands must undergo the most extreme hardships in your presence just because they believe your claims concerning the origin and content of what you have written on ancient Tibet. 
• You must gain no wealth from your work, but many times lose all that you have. Like those that believe you, you must submit yourself to the most vile persecution. And finally after 20 years of this, give your own life in a very savage and brutal manner, for you testimony concerning your book. This must be done willingly on your part. 
• Start right now and produce this record which covers 2,600 years of history, doing it, not in the peaceful atmosphere of your community, but under the most trying of circumstances which includes being driven from your home several times, and receiving constant threats upon your life. Please have your book completed, talk a friend into mortgaging his farm to raise money to have it printed with the understanding that neither he nor yourself will ever receive monetary enumeration from it. You must sell the book at cost or less. 
• Do this all in 60 days!! 

  If no one can comply exactly to this criteria: There Is Only One Answer:

  THE BOOK OF MORMON IS A DIVINE RECORD

  If not, its origin must be stated and its claims must be explained by the critic. It isn’t enough to merely discard it as false and forget about it. The first thing to do in examining any ancient text is to consider it in the light of the origin and background that is claimed for it. If it fits into that background there is no need to look farther, since historical forgery, of previously unknown, events is virtually impossible. 

  — author unkown

Kelly Bingham, “The Logical Arguments of the Book of Mormon” Excerpt from moroni10.com

The purpose of this logical analysis is not to convert anyone who doesn’t already believe in the Book of Mormon or the LDS church, only The Holy Ghost can do that. The purpose behind these is to demonstrate to those who do believe just how much of an impact the existence and validity has on religion and the existence of God. It will show how one truth can snowball into many others.

I. The Duplication Argument
1. Anything done by one person can be duplicated by another person.
2. Therefore, if someone can duplicate the Book of Mormon, under the same criteria it was originally produced, then it is feasibly a fake. If it can’t be duplicated, then by default the book is authentic, and subsequently true.

II. The Logical Argument
1. The Book of Mormon contains a detailed history of previously unknown nations and cultures.
2. The Book of Mormon is a long epic volume that contains 522 pages with over 150 words per page and over 300,000 words from start to finish. It contains 239 chapters, and includes 54 chapters dealing with wars, 21 historical chapters, 55 chapters on visions and prophecies, and the visions and prophecies agree meticulously with the Bible. 71 chapters are on doctrine and exhortation, and here too, every statement is consistent with the scriptures. 21 chapters are on the ministry of Jesus Christ, and everything He said and did and every testimony given about Him agrees absolutely with the New Testament.
3. 21 year old farmboys, with minimal education, cannot write detailed books that contain all the above information.
4. Joseph Smith was a 21 year old farmboy.
5. Therefore, Joseph Smith could NOT have written the Book of Mormon.

III. The Excluded Middle Principle Argument
1. Either Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, according to his accounts, or he did not.
2. The Book of Mormon exists, so it had to come from someone.
3. If Joseph did not translate the book, then he must have written it himself.
4. Joseph Smith could not have written the Book of Mormon himself. See II argument.
5. Therefore, Joseph Smith did translate the Book of Mormon, according to his accounts. Because, he couldn’t have written it himself, and the book had to come from someone.

IV. Proof of Miracles
1. Joseph Smith could not translate the Book of Mormon on his own.
2. Divine intervention was necessary to translate the records.
3. Miracles are the effects of Divine intervention.
4. Therefore, because the Book of Mormon is the result of Divine intervention, the Book of Mormon is a miracle.

V. Proof of Divine Intervention
1. Miracles are the effects of Divine intervention.
2. Miracles exist.
3. Therefore, Divine intervention exists.

VI. Proof of God
1. Divine intervention exists.
2. Divine intervention is caused by a superior transcendent being.
3. A superior transcendent being is a God.
4. Therefore, God exists.
*Even if the superior being is evil, the existence of evil infers the existence of goodness, therefore, God still exists.

VII. Book of Mormon Proves the Existence of God
1. The Book of Mormon exists, and is authentic.
2. The Book of Mormon proves that miracles exist.
3. The Book of Mormon proves that divine intervention exists.
4. Therefore, the existence and authenticity of the Book of Mormon proves the existence of God.

If Joseph Smith’s account of the Book of Mormon is authentic, then so is he. Therefore, Joseph Smith is a prophet, God exists, Jesus is the Christ, The Church is true, and all else that goes along with the authenticity of the Book of Mormon.

“The Book of Mormon on Trial” Excerpt from miltonrich.com

Jack West’s Experience in Court was as Follows:

In 1941, I was a student in law school at Stanford University. I had a professor that had been a judge for many years. His examination, or test, for each student was for them to select a subject and either defend or prosecute it in opposition to the rest of the students.

There were many student attorneys on the one side to do the rapid and thorough research necessary, combining their efforts and thought processes, while the defendant was left alone to manage his case.

Most of us were terribly intimidated by the future prospects of the almost impossible odds. Most of these cases only lasted for a day or two. Occasionally an exceptionally good one might run a full week.

After many years of prayerful study and research, I knew that the Book of Mormon was true, and I decided to enlist the Lord’s help and use this subject for my final thesis.

This case lasted for almost three weeks. At the conclusion of the case, and upon the concluding arguments by both the combined prosecution (the rest of the class) and the defense (me), the judge rendered his decision in favor of the defense. He said to the prosecution, “You have not even established a toehold, much less a foothold in breaking down the marvelous evidence for the authenticity of the ‘Stick of Joseph’ (or the Book of Mormon), much less given any evidence that would show it to be a fraudulent work!”

Then the judge called me into his office and said, “Jack, where in the world did you get the evidence you presented in this mock trial?” I grinned at him and said, “You remember at the onset of the trial I told all of you that I did not take credit for one particle of this evidence. Most of it has been available to the world for over a hundred years. It just needed to be uncovered and organized. And I told you then, as I tell you now, that I believe with all of my heart that God himself prepared that evidence and the witnesses.”

The judge responded saying, “I want to tell you something. In all my years in law, I don’t think I have ever heard a case more nearly perfect than this one. When you started out, I wouldn’t have given you a plugged nickel for your chances of proving that book to be true through the absolute legal process in a court of law.”

My dear friends, do not sell the Book of Mormon short! The Book of Mormon gives strength and support to the Bible. Its testimony is vital to the understanding and acceptance of the Bible as the literal and spiritual Word of God without confusion or misinterpretation of its teachings.

(Address originally printed June 24, 1954 by Brigham Young University)

“What Do Mormons Believe?” Excerpt from whatdomormonsbelieve.com

How do Mormons (who are very intelligent, well educated as a group) reconcile themselves to the fact that there are no historical evidences of the peoples in the Book of Mormon? -Sherry

Sherry, thank you for considering us intelligent! Your comments are welcome here any time!

Modern prophets have always encouraged us to “get all of the education that you can.” The Perpetual Education Fund is in its seventh year, providing school loans to men and women in poor areas across the globe, and there are many Mormons in every professional career path from doctors, engineers, and scientists to CEOs, attorneys, and public servants. We do believe in the scientific method and most of us are very capable of holding our own in logical discussions.

And yet we still believe the Book of Mormon is the translated word of God.

An arch is held up by a strong keystone at the top.

I’m also glad you asked because there actually is evidence. A large pile of it. It isn’t publicized by the Church because archeology cannot change hearts and bring people to repent. If your testimony of the Church is based on something as tentative and changing as science, your faith in Christ will waver with every new discovery. In the late 1800’s some of the Book of Mormon’s references to animals and metals were laughably inconsistent with then-current scientific knowledge. In recent decades, more scientific discoveries have actually turned each of these accusations into stronger proof that the book could not have been written by Joseph Smith.

I don’t want to get into it all here, but I’ll list a few examples and let you look at Jeff Lindsay’s website for a larger, more detailed collection of Book of Mormon evidence.

• The early chapters in the Book of Mormon map out a route from Jerusalem, along the Red Sea to a city called Nahom, ending in a lush coastal location where a boat was built to sail to America. The city NHM and the paradise valley are still there today, and exist in exactly the locations on the Arabian peninsula the Book of Mormon describes. Joseph Smith had no access to such information.
• Many leading researchers place Book of Mormon lands in Mesoamerica, just below the Yucatan peninsula. Evidence supporting this claim includes: temples, large cities, volcanic activity at around 33 AD, fortifications for war, multiple city markets, fighting wars in winter months, and many more.
• The use of cement buildings, steel swords, buried stone boxes, and metal plates all used to seem anachronistic in the ancient world, but recent findings have turned up evidence of all these elements.
• An ancient Middle-Eastern poetic structure called chiasmus was discovered in the Book of Mormon. The concept of chiasmus was virtually unknown in most scholarly circles in Joseph Smith’s time, and if he did somehow know to include these poems, he didn’t seem to realize what powerful evidence they were, failing to make any mention of them to his detractors as evidence of authenticity. No one in the Church knew about them until 1967.
• Jacob 5 gives an amazingly detailed (and accurate) account of proper olive tree maintenance (as an allegory for the gathering of Israel). Joseph Smith had no experience with ancient olive tree cultivation, nor were there available any sources on the topic.

As I mentioned earlier, all of this is interesting and good, but will not likely cause a person to devote his or her life to discipleship with Jesus Christ, which is the book’s true goal. Science is not the only path to knowledge. It is just the most objective path, and that is why it is valuable. Still, there are some things that can only be understood through personal experience (see D&C 79:116-117). We can learn many important things through the scientific method, but God does not wait for science to catch up on the most vital truths. Millions of non-Mormons have been learning this book is true for 178 years, even when the scientific evidence of the day seemed to be against them. The learning method is the same today as it was then (see Moroni 10:3-5):

1. Read the book
2. Remember how merciful God has been to you
3. Ponder the message in your heart and mind
4. Ask God if it is true
5. Listen for the answer through the Holy Ghost

You can know, too. And you can stand with us as a member of this family of intelligent, faith-filled people.

Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Hinckley Challenge” Excerpt from hinckleychallenge.com

Gordon B. Hinckley

I take in my hand the Book of Mormon. I read its words. I have read Joseph Smith’s explanation of how it came to be. To the unbelieving it is a story difficult to accept, and critics for generations have worn out their lives writing books intended to refute that story and to offer other explanations than the one given by Joseph the Prophet. But to the open-minded, this critical writing has only stimulated them to dig deeper; and the more deeply they dig, the greater the accumulation of evidence for the validity of Joseph Smith’s story. Still, as has been demonstrated for a hundred and fifty years, the truth of the Book of Mormon will not be determined by literary analysis or by scientific research, although these continue to be reassuring. The truth about the origins of the Book of Mormon will be determined today and tomorrow, as it has been throughout the yesterdays, by reading the book in a spirit of reverence and respect and prayer.”

(Praise to the Man, Ensign, 1983. aug., 4)