The Translation Process Why did Joseph Smith say he used the Urim and Thummin to translate the Book of Mormon when Emma Smith, David Whitmer, Martin Harris all agree that he used an occult device called a seer stone? (Saints Herald, Nov. 15, 1962, pp. 14-22) If the gold plates Joseph Smith allegedly received from an angel, were not used in the translation of the Book of Mormon as his wife Emma Smith testified, why did God give them to him? (Saints Herald, Nov. 15, 1962, p. 15) Joseph Smith declared that an angel pronounced the original 1830 translation of the Book of Mormon correct! If this was true, why were over 3,000 changes made in the second edition published in 1837? (RLDS Church History, Vol. 1, p. 46, Restoration Scriptures, by Richard Howard, p. 41)
Devout Jews?? The Passover was one of the most significant of all the Jewish feasts. If the Nephites were devout Jews who kept the Law of Moses (2 Nephi 11:45), why wasn't the Passover mentioned even one time in their 1,000 year history, as recorded in the Book of Mormon? The Bible teaches that the tribe of Levi was an integral part of the Law of Moses. How, then, could the Nephites have kept the Mosaic Law, as the Book of Mormon teaches, when there were NO Levites among them? Furthermore, how could Alma, who was a descendant of the tribe of Joseph, have been a high priest, when the Lord had instructed Moses that every priest MUST be a descendant of Aaron and of the tribe of Levi? (II Nephi 11:45, Mosiah 9:2, I Nephi 1:165, Numbers chapters 3 & 8) Book of Mormon believers claim that the American Indians are descendants of the Jewish Lamanites in the Book of Mormon. How is this possible in light of a recent Princeton University study, which, after more than 50 years of research in population genetics, has determined that the American Indians are of Mongoloid Descent, not Jewish? (Article cited in Time Magazine, "The Story in Our Genes", Jan. 16, 1995, pp. 54-55)
Archaeology Thomas Stewart Ferguson-
With the help of a large grant from the Mormon Church, Thomas ferguson spent twenty-five years in archaeological research attempting to prove the historicity of the Book of Mormon. He finally concluded: "...you can't set Book of Mormon geography down antwhere, because it is fictitional and will never meet the requirements of the dirt-archaeology. I should say what is in the ground will never conform to what is in the book." (Quoted from a letter written by Thomas Ferguson to Mr. & Mrs. H.W. Lawerence, Feb 20, 1976, as cited in 'Ferguson's Two Faces" p. 6, by Jerald and Sandra Tanner) Michael Coe-
Professor of Anthropology at Yale University (former Mormon) "Let me now state uncategorically that as far as I know there is not one professionally trained archaeologist, who is not a Mormon, who sees ANY scientific justification for believing the [Book of Mormon]." (Dialogue:A Journal of Mormon Thought, Vol. 4, Summer, 1973, pp. 41-46) Smithsonian Institute-Official Statement
"...it can be stated definitely that there is no connection between the archaelogy of the New World and the subject matter of the Book of Mormon..." In light of the above statements, how can Book of Mormon believers continue to believe that archaeology validates the book of Mormon Story?
Anachronisms (something taken out of its proper time-frame in history)How could the people in the Book of Mormon practice the Law of Moses and Christianity at the same time, when the two are mutually exclusive? Jesus said, "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news (Christianity) of the kingdom of God is being preached" (II Nephi 11:45, Heb. 10:9, Luke 16:16) Why were Christian teachings such as baptism practiced in the Book of Mormon, hundreds of years before Christ was even born? (Mosiah 9:44) How could the Baptism of the Holy Ghost have been given to the Nephites, 550 years before Christ, when Jesus said it could not be given until after He was glorified? (John 7:38-39)
Incredulous Teachings in the Book of Mormon
1. Arabia is described in 1 Nephi 5:62-68 as a land of bounty with “much fruit and also wild honey.” However, that region of the world has only been known for its petroleum, sand, and heat since ancient times.[73] 2. Genealogy was very important to the Jewish people. Yet, Lehi, supposedly a devout Jew and a prophet of God who had lived in Jerusalem all of his life, did not know which tribe he belonged to until he arrived on the American continent (1 Nephi 1:3, 164-165). 3. A great battle is described in the Book of Mormon, with only one surviving warrior on each side, Shiz and Coriantumr. The final scene is described as follows. “And it came to pass that when they had all fallen by the sword save it were Coriantumr and Shiz, behold Shiz had fainted with the loss of blood. And it came to pass that when Coriantumr had leaned upon his sword…[and] rested a little, he smote off the head of Shiz. And it came to pass that after he had smote off the head of Shiz, that Shiz raised upon his hands and fell: and after that he had struggled for breath [without a head] he died” (Ether 6:103-105). 4. The Book of Mormon Jesus told the Nephites that because they had more faith than his disciples in Palestine, he was able to do greater miracles among them. He allegedly said, “So great faith have I never seen among all the Jews; wherefore I could not shew unto them so great miracles, because of their unbelief” (3 Nephi 9:35). The miracles that Jesus performed while with his disciples in Palestine include: changing water into wine, raising the dead, feeding five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish, opening deaf ears and blind eyes, causing the dumb to speak, healing every kind of disease, walking on water, casting out demons, retrieving money from the mouth of a fish, and walking out of his own tomb alive. What Book of Mormon miracles can top these!? 5. The Book of Mormon tells of a temple that was built by the Nephites after the manner of the temple of Solomon. “And I Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon, save it were not built of so many precious things for they were not to be found upon the land, wherefore, it could not be built like unto Solomon’s temple.” (2 Nephi 4:22-24). Verse twenty-one, just previous to the above verse, reads, “And I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores which were in great abundance.” In one verse the precious ores were in great abundance, yet in the next verse they were not to be found in the land! To construct a temple like Solomon’s would have been a monumental task for just a handful of people. It had been approximately thirty-one years since two families, and a man named Zoram, left Jerusalem, and during that time they had split into two groups. The smaller of the two groups called the Nephites, (possibly five couples and their children) built the temple. In contrast, Solomon used 30,000 laborers, 70,000 carriers, 80,000 stone cutters (highly skilled craftsman) and 3,300 foremen (I Kings 5:13-18). 6. The Book of Mormon describes one battle where 2,060 young men called striplings, fought wars over a period of four to five years without one of them being killed (Alma 24:74 - Alma 26:101). 7. The Book of Mormon uses the French word adieu (Jacob 5:48). However, the French language wasn’t developed from Latin until approximately 700 AD, 300 years after the Book of Mormon records were supposedly completed and buried. 8. In 6 B.C., Helaman is quoted as saying, “we read”[74] and then cites John 5:29 from the King James Version of the Bible. The King James Bible was published in 1611 A.D., over 1000 years after Helaman made his statement. 9. Alma speaks of burying swords in the earth to keep them bright. Yet, burying metal swords in the earth would speed the rusting process, not prevent it. 10. Approximately 559 BC, Nephi quoted Malachi the prophet, yet Malachi did not begin prophesying until 150 years after Nephi quoted him. 11. The Book of Mormon (Ether l:42-60), gives a description of the barges that brought the Jaredites from the tower of Babel across the ocean to the American continent. According to this account, there were eight small barges, about the length of a tree, which were light upon the water (like a bird). The top and bottom were tight like a dish. There was a hole in both the top and bottom in case they suffered for air. The barges could not have windows because they would be dashed to pieces. (Note: Joseph Smith did not know that the Phoenicians had not yet invented glass in 2200 B.C.) Picture the following! Eight “small barges” were manned and loaded for an ocean journey of approximately one year. Men, women and children (Jared and his family, the brother of Jared and his family and twenty-two friends with their children (probably 40 people or more) Herds of cattle, herds of horses, herds of swine, herds of sheep and herds of goats Swarms of bees, seeds of every kind, fowls of the air, and varieties of fish Several tons of food, bedding, clothing A year’s supply of water for families Sewage disposal system for families and animals In their year’s ocean journey in “eight small barges”, imagine what would happen to these forty or more people, herds of cattle, horses, swine, sheep, goats, swarms of bees, fish, food, water supplies and waste products, when the Lord caused “a furious wind to blow upon the face of the waters… and they were tossed upon the waves of the sea…and were many times buried in the depth of the sea” (Ether 3:6-7). It has been estimated that even if the barges only moved 10 mph (with the furious wind blowing), the distance traveled in one year would have been 82,560 miles, or enough for more than three trips around the world. Amazingly, all eight barges landed at the same time and in the same place and began building a new civilization. 12. According to the Book of Mormon message, the dark skin of the American Indians was a curse put upon them by God for their rebellions against Him. The purpose of the curse was: 1) so that they wouldn’t be enticing unto the righteous (white) people (2 Nephi 4:35), and 2) That the righteous whites would not mix with the dark skinned people and believe their incorrect traditions (2 Nephi 4:35, Alma 1:106-113). The curse took place immediately on violators, and extended even to those who would marry them. The curse was, “from this time henceforth and forever, except they repent of their wickedness and turn to me, that I [the Lord] may have mercy upon them” (Alma 1:113-114). When any portion of the Lamanites repented and turned to God, “the curse of God did no more follow them” (Alma 14:20) and their skin became white within one year! (3 Nephi 1:48-53). Question: If the Book of Mormon is true, why do the American Indians, who have repented and joined the RLDS Church, still have dark skin and why doesn’t the skin of white people who marry non-believing Indians turn dark? 13. The Book of Mormon teaches that the Nephites were devout Jews who kept the law of Moses, yet there is no mention of the Passover. The importance of the Passover to the Jewish people cannot be over-emphasized. The Nephites should have celebrated this event hundreds of times during the 600 years in America before the coming of Christ, yet there isn’t one mention of it being observed. In contrast, the Passover is mentioned over seventy-five times in the Bible. 14. Important Jewish feasts recorded in the Bible are the Feast of First Fruits, Feast of Weeks, Feast of Trumpets, Feast of Tabernacles, etc. These religious feasts were of utmost importance and it is inconceivable that they are not mentioned even once in the Book of Mormon, a book purporting to be a history of Jewish people. Also, Jerald and Sandra Tanner state the following concerning the various Jewish offerings. “In the King James Version of the Old Testament we find the following: trespass offerings, meat offerings, drink offerings, wave offerings and peace offerings (see Exodus, chapter 29; Leviticus, chapters 2-5; Numbers, chapter 29; Chronicles, chapter 29). The computer showed that these offerings were mentioned 519 times in the Bible. The Book of Mormon, on the other hand, does not have a single place where any of these important offerings are mentioned!”[75] 15. Some of the distinctive teachings of Mormonism include the following. · Three glories in heaven · Two priesthoods—Aaronic and Melchizedek · Pre-existence · Chance for salvation after death · Baptism for dead None of these doctrines are found in the Book of Mormon, which Joseph claimed was the most perfect book on earth and which, he claimed, contained the fullness of the Gospel. 16. Joseph Smith claimed that the American Indians (Lamanites in Mormon teachings) are descendants of Jews who escaped to the Americas from Jerusalem before the Babylonian captivity in 600 B.C. This premise is contradicted by a. fifty-year global study of population genetics recently published by Princeton University Press. The research was confined to groups that were in their present locations as of 1492 to provide, “a genetic snapshot of the world when Columbus sailed for America.” This study indicates that in the Americas, the native tribes were of Mongoloid extraction, not Semitic.[76] The following contrasts underscore these findings. | Mongoloid · Scant facial hair · Straight, black coarse hair · red skin tones | Semitic · thick beards · thick curly hair · brown skin tones | Dr. Thomas Key, Professor of Biology, states, “Genetics authorities found in the Smithsonian Institution, medical centers, scientific research centers, and universities around the world overwhelmingly agree that when we compare the DNA and hereditary traits of Native American Indians and Mediterranean Jews with the Mongoloid, Negroid, and Caucasoid races, that it is perfectly obvious that Native American Indians are distinctly and typically Mongoloid and most definitely not of Jewish origin![77] 17. Concerning the reproduction rate in the Book of Mormon, Dr. Thomas Key, (Ph.d., Sc.D., Ed.D. (Biology), notes that it is astronomical. He states, “The story starts in 600 B.C. and extends to 421 A.D. It involves a mere handful of people who supposedly travel from ‘the land of Jerusalem’ to the Promised Land of America. Every four or five years or so there are devastating wars that kill many thousands of people…For this to be so it would be necessary for each couple to have scores of children, and for them to reach maturity in three or so years throughout the supposed period between 600B.C. and 421 A.D.”[78] 18. The meaning of names was very important to the Jewish people. One has to wonder then, why a prominent male character in the Book of Mormon was named Alma, which in Hebrew means a “betrothed virgin maiden.”
ConclusionThe many contradictory accounts of the translation process and the lack of archaeological evidence, are reasons enough to question the authenticity of the Book of Mormon as scripture. However, the final blow to this premise is the mixing of the Old and New Covenants, as Wesley Waters, noted scholar and Mormon researcher has observed: "Perhaps the most damaging [evidence against the Book of Mormon] is the way the book confuses the Old and New Covenants. The book stresses that before the coming of Christ the faithful kept the Law of Moses, yet they also established churches, taught and practiced Christian baptism, and were conversant with the New Testament doctrines and events. The gradual unfolding of theological themes so evident in the Bible is completely lacking in the Book of Mormon. In the Bible the Old Covenant is taken away to establish the New...The Book of Mormon disrupts this divine pattern and intermingles the covenants and their ordinances...This makes the Book of Mormon seem plainer than the Bible to one who has little acquaintance with God's Holy Scriptures. However, a careful autopsy of this book...discloses that it is really a piece of early American fiction." (Eternity Magazine, May, 1980) If, as evidence shows, the Book of Mormon is not authentic scripture, then Joseph Smith, despite his claims, could not have been a prophet of God. Jesus said, "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves" (Matt 7:15). |
