Roberts to any mormon, and they will instantly recognize him as one of the staunchest defenders of the mormon faith. Discussions on the book of mormon 3 nephi 2730 originally aired. The mormon battalion, its history and achievements. His numerous historical a comprehensive history of the church. Mar 19, 2009 enos is the third author in the book of mormon after nephi 1 and jacob. The conclusion states, much as critics and defenders of the book of mormon would like to use dna studies to support their views, the evidence is simply inconclusive. It became apparent to me as i studied the book of mormon that it was unsophisticated, repetitious, and very much inconsistent with human behavior in general as compared to the rest of human history. Mormon missionaries continue to claim that the science of archeology substantiates the book of mormon, but whether we consider the alleged cities, persons, animals, fabrics, metals, wars and war implements, kings, palaces, or crops, all the evidence points to their nonexistence. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. The problem is not even the subtle, but genuine threat posed by the churchs unamerican, overlydefensive, antisocial. He visited the location each year for four years, until he was told that the time had come for these scriptures to. Roberts was a latterday saint general authority and intellectual who drafted several writings in 1922 dealing with alleged problems in the book of mormon see brigham d. Packer identified the feminist movement as one of three dangers to the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, reflecting the rough ride. Joseph, 27, lives just west of salt lake city in a mormon ward that spans a couple of streets.
Donald trumps very bad mormon problem, explained evan mcmullin, a conservative independent presidential candidate, speaks at an oct. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church has been the subject of criticisms since it was founded by american religious leader joseph smith. Opinion donald trumps mormon problem the new york times. Jun 22, 2015 being a mormon in politics has never been easy. Trump is currently polling at just 37 percent compared with clintons 25 percent in utah, which is fairly normal for democrats in the. No, he continued expressing his testimony of the book of mormon throughout his life. Bible or book of mormon the difference in reliability between the bible and the book of mormon. Though it appears in a list of seeds and grains, the context in mosiah 9. Although it serves primarily as a religious text, it is to be interpreted literally as being an actual, historical record of the inhabitants of the ancient. The book of mormon claims to be a translation of ancient writing on gold plates.
So in the book of mormon as in malachi we read of the young lion that wreaks havoc among the aliens 3 nephi 12. However, after a fair and candid examination of the evidence, many thousands of honest mormons have discovered that this claim. Quitmormon and the tricky process of leaving the church the verge. Enos is the third author in the book of mormon after nephi 1 and jacob. The book of mormon was produced by joseph smith, who claimed to have been led by an angel to the spot where the golden plates on which the book of mormon had been written were buried.
Critics of the book of mormon often point to apparent problems with plants and animals as evidence of fraud from joseph smith. Another major problem for the book of mormon is archeology, a major embarrassment for the mormon church. The single most disconcerting problem with the mormon church is not its extreme authoritarianism, unsurpassed among modern religious cultures. A book of mistakes, error, and fraud by jon gary williams introduction the mormon church promotes the book of mormon as an inspired writing. Archeologicalanthropological problems in the book of mormon. His contention is that the dna research thus far doesnt support the book of mormon, peterson said. The books of hebrews and revelation are also quoted or closely paraphrased. Words of the apostle paul are nearly or exactly quoted supposedly. Questions about apparent problems in the book of mormon. While interesting, at present it does not seem that haplogroup x can serve as good evidence of the book of mormon s antiquity given the problems of dating and the failure of the model to come to grips with textual issues from the book of mormon. These plates were supposedly written 1,400 years ago and detailed the history of the jewish nephites from 600 b.
Its story focuses on two young mormon missionaries who travel to africa. Since gallup began tracking in 1968, about one in five voters say they wouldnt vote for a generally wellqualified person for president who. The problem with the mormon church is that it has done these sorts of things while professing to be the only true and living church of god upon the face of whole the earth, with which. There are two possible explanations for the origin of the book of mormon. The book of mormon is supposed to be the account of people who came from the middleeast to the americas. If the book of mormon is an accurate translation, some claim that it shouldnt contain these translational errors. The only bible that joseph smith relied on was the king james version. The number seven had several connotations to the precolumbian communities of mesoamerica. The legal organization behind book of mormon central is the book of mormon archaeological forum, inc. The problem of the horse and other domestic animals excerpt from. While interesting, at present it does not seem that haplogroup x can serve as good evidence of the book of mormons antiquity given the problems of dating and the failure of the model to come to grips with textual issues from the book of mormon. The musicals namesake is the holy book of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. The book of mormon implies a seven day week similar to that practiced in the middle east. Donald trumps very bad mormon problem, explained the.
Polygamy is perhaps the most controversial, and was a key contributing factor for smiths murder. Criticism of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints wikipedia. Considered a sacred number, it represented the seven directions in the universefour cardinal directions plus the zenith or sky, center, and nadir. Problems of the book of mormon sperry, sidney branton on. Book of mormon central is not an official part of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, but rather an independent organization. Lds historical facts, problems, controversies, and contradictions. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of. The most famous part of the book of mormon story is of the appearance of jesus christ after his resurrection to preach to the nephites. I saw a short documentary series about sexualityetc. May 14, 2014 discussions on the book of mormon 1 nephi 1618 originally aired. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi, who claimed that it had been. Discussions on the book of mormon 1 nephi 1618 originally aired.
Has the mormon church truly left its race problems behind. No, the biggest problem with the lds church is not any of these very serious lapses or legal violations. In addition, the very content of the book of mormon makes it impossible to accept it as divine revelation. It occurs in a list with food items, namely, corn, wheat, barley, neas another book of mormon hapax legomenon, and fruit seeds. Errors of mormonism by keith piper but though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. Not only do they contradict the bible, but they also include errors, have frequently.
If the members do know of these issues, they usually only know the glossedover, incomplete versions told by the church in lessons. Archaeological trends and the book of mormon origins. Lds church members are taught that the book of mormon bom is scripture, as well as a true record of the inhabitants of the americas from about 2200 bc to 420 ad. This is my unscientific, hopefully scripturally sound, notofficiallysanctioned story. Christians reject the book of mormon, doctrine and covenants, and pearl of great price in the first place because they consider the bible to be the only legitimate written, revealed word of god. The book of mormon musical notsofunny to mormons 89. Johnson, utah has become a swing state, as many mormon voters find themselves torn between their moral and political. Does anyone else think book of mormon is overrated. Even this list is not exhaustive, but these topics should be investigated by anyone who might be considering joining the lds church. It has problems archeologically, linguistically, scientifically and logically. The new testament portion of the kjv is often quoted in the old testament.
These are five problems with the book of mormon, and to doubt its authenticity as an ancient document. Mormon sexuality, dysfunction and unconsummated marriages. Critics challenge the viability of the population size and growth of the book of mormon people. The book of mormon is a much different text than what we have been supposing for the past 188 years.
Lds church issues new statement on feminism the salt lake. In addition, the mormon scriptures have significant problems. How the book of mormon was translated let us reason. Book of mormontranslation errors from the kjv fairmormon. Describing how this was accomplished, david whitmer, one of the socalled three witnesses to a testimony appearing at the front of the book of mormon, said. In utah, he suffered one of his worst defeats, finishing dead last with a. Mormonism also teaches that christs true church must have contemporary prophets, apostles, and priests, and that the mormon church is the only one possessing all of these characteristics.
Book of mormon problems lds church members are taught that the book of mormon bom is scripture, as well as a true record of the inhabitants of the americas from about 2200 bc to 420 ad. The great felides, lion, jaguar and puma figure everywhere in the postclassical as representing the valor of the societies of youthful warriors, the cutting edge of aztec conquest. The enos problem in the book of mormon adventures in. The book of mormon makes clear that both jaredites and nephites who lived in ancient times on this continent had domestic animals of various kinds. This organization, as did the much larger utah mormon church and many smaller divisions, developed as a direct result. See all formats and editions hide other formats and editions.
The book of mormon is a product of the nineteenth century, and that there is nothing about it that cannot be explained in terms of a purely human origin. It would be cool to have another exmo in that community. Its looking more and more likely that barack obama will be facing mitt romney next november. Brigham henry roberts, born in england in 1857, was president of the lds first quorum of the seventy and assistant church historian. There is no obstacle to great, no challenge too difficult, if we have faith. The book of mormon incorporates text which seems to be taken from the king james version, including passages which are now considered to be mistranslations in the king james version. Revisiting the seven lineages of the book of mormon and the seven tribes of mesoamerica. May 16, 2014 discussions on the book of mormon 3 nephi 2730 originally aired. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church has been the subject of criticisms since it was founded by american religious leader joseph smith in 1830. Exactly how was the book of mormon supposed to have been translated from the golden plates. In the 1830s, mormonism commanded center stage in missouri politics. It tells of the jaredites, people from the tower of babel who came to central america but perished because of their own immorality. Criticism of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. He is best known for his lengthy prayer while hunting in the wilderness, wherein he first asks for personal forgiveness, then for gods blessings upon the nephites, then his blessings upon the lamanites, then that a record of the nephites will be preserved and brought into the lamantes at some future day should.
Roberts, an lds general authority and church historian, after a serious examination of the literary style of the book of mormon, concluded. In addition to the material i have covered on differences between mormon doctrine and orthodox christian doctrine, there are many other problems with mormonism. 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. Journal of mormon history j a n u a r y 2 0 1 6 l v o l u m e 4 2 l n o. Mormon leaders do not speak of a gay or lesbian sexual orientation, though they now fully acknowledge that many people struggle with.
Elder thomas book of mormon musical 318 nabulungi hatimbi 314 elder church book of mormon musical 186 uganda district nine elders book of mormon musical 85 mafala hatimbi 73 the elders book of mormon musical 55 elder neeley book of mormon musical 49 exclude relationships elder connor mckinleykevin price 819. Joseph smith and the church he founded in new york state in 1830 quickly gained. Yet, with all of the digs and research ferguson and his team undertook, they failed to find one artifact to prove that book of mormon nephite cities, villages, or territories ever existed. The book of mormon parkerstonelopez, the book of mormon ambiguous fandom teen and up audiences choose not to use archive warnings, no archive warnings apply. Jun, 2016 of all the iniquities committed in this lessthansaintly campaign season, only one has managed to elicit an official response from mormon headquarters in salt lake city. The author of this paper was born into a family which belonged to the reorganized church of jesus christ of latter day saints with headquarters in independence, missouri. As with the bible, there are some complex issues that require some exploration. The book of mormon records that the nephites constructed houses of cement, 34 as well as temples, synagogues and sanctuaries 35 throughout their territories. This mormon answers page discusses apparent problems in the book of mormon, offering the perspectives of jeff lindsay, a member of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints.
Evaluating the book of mormon i t is very difficult to see how the book of mormon passes the test of conformity. Book of mormon and the ruinsthe main issues july, 1980 by ben crowder archaeology, collapse of civilization, hopi, inca, iniquity followers of, jaredites, maya, nephites, nephites people before, olmecs, quetzalcoatl, ruins. Acknowledging the difficulties helped me find solutions. 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.
Problems with the book of mormon are documented in, an incredible story part i the book of mormon. If this is true, then the book of mormon should be full of errors. Book of mormon and the ruinsthe main issues hugh nibley. He is best known for his lengthy prayer while hunting in the wilderness, wherein he first asks for personal forgiveness, then for gods blessings upon the nephites, then his blessings upon the lamanites, then that a record of the nephites will be preserved and brought into the lamantes. A gallup poll released monday found 81 percent of americans said they would vote for a mormon presidential candidate littlechanged from 80 percent in 2012, while only 73 percent said they would. Anachronisms in the book of mormon present a problem for the truthfulness of joseph smiths statements that a the gold plates existed and b they contained a historical account from the time period it claims. Off site a response to the claim that the book of mormon accurately portrays the journey of a desert traveler in arabia. Book of mormondna evidencegeography issues fairmormon. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church has been the subject of criticisms since it was founded by american religious leader joseph smith in 1830 polygamy is perhaps the most controversial, and was a key contributing factor for smiths murder.
It is either of divine or human origin, and if it is of human origin that means that joseph smith concocted the book. In the course of the journey to a new home, nephi, the family hunter, broke his bow and the family faced potential starvation. In 1922 he prepared an internal mormon study about the possibility that smith fabricated the book of mormon, and he considered this whole topic of internal problems more about this in my next post. In the previous post, i outlined the story of the teenaged nephi, a future prophet, who went into the wilderness with his family at gods command. Opinion racism and the mormon church the new york times. Joseph smith at the age of 16 maybe 14,15 or 17 was led to the site of the plates by the angel moroni, joseph was instructed not to remove the items until he was given permission. The underlying premise of mormonthink is that many of the issues, or at least the details of the issues, covered on mormonthink are unknown to most latterday saints. Above all, were these words given by the gift and power of god. Why new testament words and phrases are in the book of mormon part 9.
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