View source for Criticism of Mormonism/Books/An Insider's View of Mormon Origins/Conclusion

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|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Books/An Insider's View of Mormon Origins/Conclusion
|H=Response to claims made in "Conclusion"
|T=[[../../|An Insider's View of Mormon Origins]]
|A=Grant Palmer
|<=[[../Chapter 8|Claims made in "Chapter 8: The First Vision"]]
|>=
}}
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{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Books/An Insider's View of Mormon Origins/Index/Conclusion
|H=Response to claims made in An Insider's View of Mormon Origins, "Conclusion"
|S=
|L1=Response to claim: 260 - The author claims that the witnesses did not literally view the gold plates
|L2=Response to claim: 260 - The author claims that we have reinterpreted the witnesses' testimony to be "rational, impressive and unique"
|L3=Response to claim: 261 - The author claims that the Church's foundational stories are inaccurate
|L4=Response to claim: 263 - In many sacrament meetings, the tendency remains to simply mention Jesus' name and then talk about other matters rather than to discuss him and his ministry
}}
</onlyinclude>

<!-- ====259====
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title={{check}}
|claim=The author claims that Joseph mistranslated many documents.
}}
*[[Joseph Smith/Translator]]
|authorsources=<br>
#Author's opinion.
}}
====259====
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title={{check}}
|claim=The author claims that the gold plates cannot be accepted as the source of the Book of Mormon.
}}
*[[Book of Mormon/Authorship theories]]
|authorsources=<br>
#Author's opinion.
}}
====259-260====
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title={{check}}
|claim=The author claims that the Book of Mormon is a product of Joseph's "creative mind."
}}
*[[Book of Mormon/Authorship theories]]
|authorsources=<br>
#Author's opinion.
}} -->
==Response to claim: 260 - The author claims that the witnesses did not literally view the gold plates==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
The author claims that the witnesses did not literally view the gold plates.
|authorsources=<br>
#Author's opinion.
}}
{{propaganda|The author must ignore numerous clear statements made by the witnesses in order to draw this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: Did the three witnesses's experience of seeing the plates and the angel take place only in their minds?}}

==Response to claim: 260 - The author claims that we have reinterpreted the witnesses' testimony to be "rational, impressive and unique"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
The author claims that we have reinterpreted the witnesses' testimony to be "rational, impressive and unique."
|authorsources=<br>
#Author's opinion.
}}
{{propaganda|We have not "reinterpreted" the witnesses testimony to be anything other than what it claims to be: a statement of what the witnesses saw and experienced.
}}
{{:Question: What is "empirical evidence"?}}
{{:Question: Is a man unreliable because he lived in the 19th-Century?}}

==Response to claim: 261 - The author claims that the Church's foundational stories are inaccurate==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
The author claims that the Church's foundational stories are inaccurate.
|authorsources=<br>
#Author's opinion.
}}
{{propaganda|This is simply the author's own opinion.
}}
{{:Question: Has the Church "whitewashed" some of the information about its origins to appear more palatable to members and investigators?}}
{{:Question: What are the different levels of knowledge that members may have about Church history?}}

==Response to claim: 263 - In many sacrament meetings, the tendency remains to simply mention Jesus' name and then talk about other matters rather than to discuss him and his ministry==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
*{{AuthorQuote|Recently the church has reemphasized the importance of centering our worship in Christ. This is apparent at the upper levels of the church, but little has yet changed at the local level. In many sacrament meetings, the tendency remains to simply mention Jesus' name and then talk about other matters rather than to discuss him and his ministry. In our Sunday classes, the Gospels are taught for several months once every four years; the lives and teachings of modern prophets are studied each year.}}
|authorsources=<br>
#Author's opinion.
}}
{{disinformation|This is not only an absurd claim: It is utter nonsense. The author ought to know better. The central focus of the Sacrament Meeting is the administration of the sacrament itself, which represents the atonement of Christ.
}}
{{:Question: Do Latter-day Saints diminish the importance of Jesus Christ and His atonement?}}

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