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101 Reasonable Doubts About Mormon Claims
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=Difficult Questions for Mormons=
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In the first "History of the Church," written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1832, there is no mention of Joseph Smith's"first vision" (where God the Father and Jesus appeared and told him that all churches of the day were "abominations"), even though the church leaders today insist that this vision is the basis and beginning of Mormonism.
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Mormons believe that Adam and Eve were the first human beings on earth.   This contradicts all scientific evidence showing that there have been humans for many thousands of years before the traditional time for Adam.
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General questions:
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B. H. Roberts, a General Authority of the church until his death in 1933, studied the Book of Mormon extensively and concluded that Joseph Smith could have authored it himself, using as a source the 1825 book A View of the Hebrews by a protestant minister.  (MORE)
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1. Why did the angel take Nephi Plates back to heaven? Do they not belong with man? Would not their existence prove once for all that Mormonism is truth? God allowed the Jews to carry the 10 commandments for several centuries in their original physical form, written by the finger of God Himself!
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Although Mormons claim that they are "family oriented," they exclude non-Mormon family members - even parents - from weddings in the temple, since only "worthy" Mormons are allowed to enter a Mormon temple.  (MORE)
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2. "Will you, as a Mormon, please read the Bible cover to cover and ask God to reveal to you that it contains all of God's message to man and that parts are not lost or altered and that the Book of Mormon is false?"
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Mormon women are limited to a secondary role in the church and in the family:  they are not allowed to hold any priesthood office (which is required to exercise any authority); they are to be obedient to their husbands (or, if unmarried, to their fathers); their ideal role is to bear children and to be a homemaker.   (MORE)
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3. If the original 1830 Book of Mormon was inspired than why were there so many errors and changes and additions and deletions, when compared to current editions?
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The Book of Mormon says that wheat and barley were mainstay crops in ancient America.  This is false.  Only in Europe were those crops known and cultivated.  And the actual staple crops grown in ancient America are never mentioned in the Book of Mormon:  beans, sweet potatoes, squash, manioc, peppers, breadnut, fruits.
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4. How can we be assured that the translation of the B of M into French or any other language is correct? Only the English translation is claimed to be inspired!
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One of the most highly praised human traits in Mormonism is "obedience."  This is also one of the characteristics of a cult.   (MORE)
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5. How do you account for the stunning parallels in both content and order between the B of M and the View of the Hebrews, by Ethan Smith? Published in 1823 (7 years before the B of M) less than 100 miles from the Joseph Smith's parents home.
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Mormon scripture (D&C 84:86, 91) says that true missionaries from God will not rely on their own money or supplies ("purse or scrip") for support, and this will be a test to distinguish them from false missionaries.   Modern Mormon missionaries now rely on themselves for support; i.e., they do "carry purse [and] scrip."
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6. Mormon Article of Faith #8: "We Believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God." Why do you only add the phrase, "as far as it is translated correctly" to describe the Bible and not after the book of Mormon when in fact there are far more translating errors in the Book of Mormon than the Bible?
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Although Joseph Smith claimed to be able to translate ancient documents by the power of God, he was unable to identify the papyrus obtained from Mr. Chandler correctly as pagan Egyptian funerary scrolls from the time of Christ (as identified subsequently by professional Egyptologists), but rather declared that they were a book written by the Patriarch Abraham two thousand years earlier, and from them "translated" the Book of Abraham.  (MORE)
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7. If the Book of Mormon is true, then why has the Mormon church changed it? Examples are: 1 Nephi 11:21; 19:20; 20:1 and Alma 29:4. Compare these with the original Book of Mormon. (Gerald and Sandra Tanner have counted 3913 changes in the book of Mormon, excluding punctuation changes.)
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The "United Order" was a series of revelations in the 1830s under which Mormons were to turn over all their property to the church, which would then make the members "stewards" and "equal."  It was based on the apparent practice in the New Testament church where the Christians "held all things in common."  (Acts 4:32-37) This Order was to be "everlasting" (D&C 82:20, 104:1).   It lasted only briefly, although the church attempted to implement it several times, both in Ohio and in Utah.
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8. How did Joseph Smith carry home the golden plates of the Book of Mormon, and how did the witnesses lift them so easily? (They weighed about 230 lbs. Gold, with a density of 19.3 weighs 1204.7 lbs. per cubic foot. The plates were 7" x 8" by about 6". See Articles of Faith, by Talmage, page 262, 34thed.)
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The Book of Mormon says that the people of ancient America had chariots (wheeled vehicles).   The wheel was unknown in ancient America.
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9. If Moroni devoutly practiced the Mormon Gospel, why is he an angel now rather than a God? (Doc. & Cov. 132:17,37)
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Mormons believe that God was once a man like us, and became God, although many passages in their own scriptures say that God never changes.
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10. Why do Mormons emphasize part of the Word of Wisdom and ignore the part forbidding the eating of meat except in winter, cold or famine? (Doc. & Cov. 89:12,13).
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Mormons emphasize the uniqueness of Joseph Smith's story of his visitations by heavenly beings and his miraculous production of long sacred texts.   However, such things - although unusual - are not unique.   Other examples of people who claimed to have had angelic visitors and produced sacred texts:  Ann Lee, Emanuel Swedenborg, James J. Strang, Baha-ullah, Mohammed, John Newbrough, Edgar Cayce, Helen Schucman, Levi H. Dowling, the anonymous author of the "Urantia" books, and many others.
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11. When Christ died, did darkness cover the land for three days or for three hours? (Luke 23:44 and 3 Nephi 8:19, 23).
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Joseph Smith claimed that his telling others of his "first vision" in 1820 caused him to be persecuted.   There is no contemporary evidence that he was persecuted for such a story.  None of his enemies seem to have been aware of such a claim at the time.
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12. Joseph Smith said that there are men living on the moon who dress like Quakers and live to be nearly 1000 years old. Since he was wrong about the moon, is it safe to trust him regarding the way to Heaven? (The Young Woman's Journal, Vol. 3, pages 263-264. See repreint in Mormonism --Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner, page 4.)
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The Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 29:3) uses the word "Bible" at a time (about 590 B.C.) when there was no such concept.
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13. Joseph Smith prepared fourteen Articles of Faith. Why has the original No. 11 been omitted? (Joseph Smith Begins His Work, Vol. 2, three pages after page 160, among the photos.)
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Mormons waver on the ultimate authority for doctrine between the Bible, Mormon scriptures, statements of former Mormon prophets, statements of living Mormon prophets, and individual "revelation" - apparently depending on what they think gives them authority to believe what they want to believe.   All of those sources are often mutually contradictory.
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14. Why did the Nauvoo House not stand forever and ever? (Doc. & Cov. 124:56-60).
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The story of the cattle-herding serpents in the Book of Mormon (Ether 9:31-33) is an absurd "tall tale."
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15. How can a man who is not a descendant of Aaron hold the Aaronic Priesthood? (Numbers 16:40; Heb. 7:13,14).
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Mormons disagree on where the actual events of the Book of Mormon took place in America.  Some - including many Mormon prophets now deceased - say throughout both North and South America (the "hemispheric model"), others - including many church scholars - say in a small area in Central America and southern Mexico (the "limited geography model").   The recent prophets, who are supposed to be inspired by God and "know all things," have declined to make any statement on the issue.
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16. Since Mormonism teaches that only God the Father had a physical body at the time Adam was created, why did God say, "Let us make man in OUR image"? Why didn't He say, "Let us make man in MY image?" (Gen. 1:26).
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The church did not acknowledge the role of church leaders in the massacre of 120 innocent people in 1857 at Mountain Meadows until the 150th anniversary of the event, when a church spokesman said that the church had "deep regret" for the role that "local" Mormon church leaders played in the massacre.   The church emphasized that the statement was not to be understood as an apology.   (MORE)
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17. If Jesus was conceived as a result of a physical union between God and Mary, how was Jesus born of a virgin? (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1, page 50).
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Mormons teach that there are many gods, and that humans can become gods, even though many scriptural passages both biblical and Mormon, say that there is only one God.
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18. How did Nephi with a few men on a new continent build a temple like Solomon's while Solomon needed 163,300 workmen and seven years to build his temple? (1 Kings 5:13-18 and 2 Nephi 5:15-17).
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The Book of Mormon says that the horse was used as a beast of burden or draft animal in ancient America.  This is false.  The ancient Americans had no beasts of burden or draft animals, and especially not the horse.   (The Incas domesticated the llama, but not until long after Book of Mormon times.)
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19. Why was Joseph Smith still preaching against polygamy in October 1843 after he got his revelation in July 1843 commanding the practice of polygamy? (Doc. & Cov. 132; and History of the Church Vol. 6, page 46, or Teachings of the Prophet, page 324).
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Brigham Young, supposedly a divinely inspired prophet, taught that Adam was actually God the Father.   This idea is repudiated by the present-day church as false.  (MORE)
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20. God rejected the fig leaf aprons which Adam and Eve made (Gen. 3:21). Why do Mormons memorialize the fall by using fig leaf aprons in the secret temple ceremonies?
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Originally the terms "eternal marriage" and "celestial marriage" as used in D&C 132 meant "plural marriage," as interpreted by the 19th century Mormon leaders.   Now the church has changed the meaning so as not to imply polygamy, although the terms were introduced in the revelation which authorized polygamy.   The church today claims that the divine plan for marriage is one man to one woman.   But D&C 132 is still scripture, and still authorizes a man to marry more than one woman at a time.
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21. How do you explain the fact that 2 Nephi 16:2 is copied from an older version of the KJV of the Bible in Isa 6:2? This is proven because this older KJV (the mistake is corrected in current versions) made a rare gramatical error by using the incorrect plural form of "seraphims" rather than "seraphim".
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Joseph Smith asserted that Mormons believe in obeying and sustaining the law (Articles of Faith 12), but he continually flouted the law, as in his establishing the illegal Kirtland Bank (for which he was found guilty and fined) and his entering into illegal bigamous (polygamous) relationships.   (MORE)
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The series of questions below are provided courtesy of: http://www.california.com/~rpcman/BOMQUEST.HTM
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Joseph Smith claimed that he told his family about his "first vision" in 1820, in which he said that God and Christ had told him that he should join no church at that time because they were all false.   However, several family members did subsequently join the Presbyterian church, and Joseph Smith applied to join the Methodist church in 1828, thus casting doubt on whether he had had the vision as claimed.  (MORE)
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Book of Mormon Culture
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The Book of Mormon is supposed to be the "word of God" and translated correctly (unlike the Bible, which Mormons believe to be the word of God only so far as it is translated correctly - Articles of Faith 8).  But over 3000 changes and corrections have been made in the text since it was first published.  Many were corrections of grammar, but others changed meaning and even doctrine.   (MORE)
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1. Why does the Book of Mormon mention Silk (Alma 1:29)? LDS Apologist John Welch cites several New World fabrics as possible matches for Linen and Silk (Reexploring the Book of Mormon, pg. 162). Agave fibers and fig bark for Linen? Ceiba fibers, pineapple fibers and rabbit hair for Silk? Welch concludes with the staggering claim 'Mesoamerica evidently exhibits almost an embarrassment of riches for the "silk" and "linen" of Alma 1:29. All but the most trivializing critics should be satisfied with the parallels.' (pg. 164) My response to Welch: You'll have to forgive my trivializing nature but rabbit hair doesn't equal silk in my book.
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The earliest accounts of Joseph Smith's1823 angelic visitor (who told him about the gold plates) say that the angel's name was "Nephi."  Only later was the name changed to "Moroni."  Both are important characters in the Book of Mormon, but they are very different, and supposedly lived a thousand years apart.
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2. What about Chariots (Alma 18:9)? There is no evidence of actual wheeled vehicle usage in the 2,000 BC to 400 AD time frame in Ancient America.
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The Book of Mormon teaches that a dark skin is a "loathsome" curse from God, imposed for one's unrighteousness (or the unrighteousness of one's ancestors), and that righteous living will cause a person's dark skin to become white and "delightsome."  This is scientifically nonsense.
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3. Why does the Book of Mormon imply a seven day week (Mosiah 13:18) when it was not known to Ancient Americans? The Mesoamericans used a variety of calendars, none of which match the Old World calendar. The Maya seemed to be oversupplied in the calendar department. One calendar consisted of a 260-day cycle divided into 13 'months' of twenty days. (This calendar was used by most of the ancient Mesoamericans). Each day was presided over by it's own god. Another consists of a 365-day cycle, also divided into 'months' of twenty days, eighteen of them in fact. The five leftover days were called the 'resting, or sleep of the year'. Another consists of a 3276-day cycle divided into four quadrants of 819 days (the product of 7*9*13, all sacred numbers to the Maya). And then, of course, there was the so-called 'long count' calendar, which simply counted days from the creation of the world (August 11, 3114 BC, if anyone wants to know). (Linda Schele, 'A Forest of Kings', pg. 78).
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Some Mormon scriptures say that God has a physical body (e.g. D&C 30:22); others say that God is a spirit (Alma 28:26-28).
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4. Why are Cimeters, an Old-World weapon of war, mentioned in Mosiah 9:16 and other verses when none have been found to exist in the New World? John Sorenson cites a Mesoamerican 'maccuahuitl' for a Cimiter (An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, pg. 262). The Maccuahuitl was a hardwood club with obsidian blades. A Cimiter is a heavy, two-handed steel blade. What's wrong with this picture?
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Although the official version of the translation of the gold plates says that Joseph Smith used the "Urim and Thummim" (two stones set into a bow attached to a breast plate) as the vehicle for inspiration, most witnesses to the process said that he used the same "peepstone" that he had used for many years for treasure-hunting, by placing it in his hat and then covering his face with the hat so as to exclude light.
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5. Why have some (like Elder Peterson and Elder Brewerton) used the Quetzalcoatl legend to "prove" the Book of Mormon's Christ when the Quetzalcoatl (or feathered serpent) legend dates to 1,000 years before the Book of Mormon's Christ?
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Until 1978 the church excluded from the priesthood and from the temple any member who had "Negro" blood.  Now the church claims that it was never "racist." (MORE)
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6. When the Nephites landed in the Americas there were already millions of inhabitants in the land with large cities and infrastructure. Why are these people not mentioned? The Book of Mormon seems to indicate that the continent was empty at the time. 2 Nephi 1:8 One wonders if 'knowledge' of the land had been kept from the natives who had already been there for thousands of years?
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Mormons teach that the process of going from the pre-existent life as spirit offspring of God requires obtaining a body, following all of God's commandments in this life, being resurrected with a perfect physical body and proceeding to godhood.  No satisfactory explanation is given as to how the third member of the Mormon godhead (the Holy Ghost) can have status as a god but lack a physical body.
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7. Why didn't Nephi compare and contrast the New World with Jerusalem? These were two vastly different places.
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Brigham Young, in all his sermons, mentions nothing about Joseph Smith's "first vision."  In one of his few references to the visionary beginnings of Mormonism he asserts that God did not appear to Joseph Smith, but rather sent an angel.  (MORE)
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Book of Mormon Metallurgy
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The Book of Mormon portrays Lehi as a devout Israelite (a prophet), but he is completely ignorant of which tribe he belongs to (1 Nephi 5:14-16).  This would be extremely unlikely.
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1. Why does the Book of Mormon mention Bellows (1 Nephi 17:11), Brass (2 Nephi 5:15), Breast Plates & Copper (Mosiah 8:10), Iron (Jarom 1:8), Gold and Silver currency (Alma 11), Silver (Jarom 1:8), and Steel Swords (Ether 7:9)? No evidence indicates that these items existed during Book of Mormon times. Tom Ferguson: "Metallurgy does not appear in the region until about the 9th century A.D."
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The Mormon "endowment" ceremony, introduced by Joseph Smith soon after he had been initiated into Freemasonry, had many similarities to the Masonic initiation ceremony of his day.  (MORE)
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2. Why doesn't the art (which is abundant) of the supposed Book of Mormon cultures portray the existence of metallurgical products or metallurgical activity?
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Although the divinely inspired "Word of Wisdom" (D&C 89:5) condemns wine as harmful, recent research shows that drinking one or two glasses of wine daily has a beneficial effect on the health.
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Book of Mormon Animals
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Many of the revelations which Joseph Smith received up to 1833 were published that year in the Book of Commandments.  They were later re-published in the D&C (1835), but only after major revisions to many of them, even though God had certified the original versions as "true." (MORE)
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1. Why does the Book of Mormon mention the following animals: Ass, Bull, Calf, Cattle, Cow, domestic Goat (the Nephites claimed to have found the domestic goat!), Horse (the horse plays a major role in the Nephite and Lamanite societies), Ox, domestic Sheep, Sow, Swine, & Elephants (contrary to the dated information on this site, non-LDS indicate that there is no evidence of elephants in the New World and the mammoth and mastodon of North America have been extinct for thousands years--see Stan Larson's "Quest for the Gold Plates" pages 184-188? None of these animals even existed in America during the era and timescale of Book of Mormon times.
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Mormon archaeologists have been unable to identify any New World site conclusively as a site mentioned in the Book of Mormon.
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2. Why aren't animals such as Coatimundis, Deer, Jaguars, Tapir, Monkeys, Sloths, Turkeys, etc.. mentioned when they were animals that existed? They were unknown to Joseph Smith, but later discovered to have lived here at the time the Nephites were supposed to have co-existed with them.
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Many present Mormon doctines and practices are at odds with the teachings found in the Book of Mormon (MORE).
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Book of Mormon Crops
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When Mormon leaders announced in 1890 that the practice of plural marriage was ended, it was a lie.   Church officials continued secretly to perform plural marriages and to enter into them for about sixteen years.
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1. Why is plow agriculture such as Barley (Alma 11:7) and Wheat (Mosiah 9:9) included in the Book of Mormon when it didn't exist during that time period? "There's a whole system of production of wheat and barley . . . It's a specialized production of food. You have to know something to make flax [the source of linen], and especially in tropical climates. Grapes and olives . . . all these are cultures that are highly developed and amount to systems, and so the Book of Mormon is saying that these systems existed here." (BYU anthropology professor, Dr. Raymond T. Matheny, August 25, 1984 Sunstone conference in Salt Lake City). Welch claims barley existed in the Book of Mormon based on one find in Phoenix, Arizona! Arizona is hardly the setting of the Book of Mormon.
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The Apostle Paul said that a deacon should be married and the head of a household.  But most Mormon deacons are boys only twelve to fourteen years old.   (MORE)
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2. Why aren't the foods known to ancient America such as chocolate, lima beans, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, manioc, etc. included in the Book of Mormon?
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The Book of Mormon says that elephants were a useful domestic animal in ancient America ((Ether 9:19).  This is impossible because there were no elephants in America at that time.   It may be that Joseph Smith included elephants in the Book of Mormon because a woolly mammoth skeleton had recently been found in America, and this led some people to think that elephants were known to the Indians' ancestors.   However, the mammoth (or mastodon) had become extinct about six thousand years before the events in the Book of Mormon are dated.
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Book of Mormon Geography
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Joseph Smith frequently received revelations through visiting angels.   No leader of the church has had angelic visitors for many years.   Such lack of revelation was prophesied as a sign of apostasy (Micah 3:5-11).
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1. Why isn't the terrain of Central America described?
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Mormons claim that the "endowment" ceremony of the temple was restored by Joseph Smith after having been "corrupted" - particularly by the Masons, who deleted many "plain and precious parts."  Ever since it was first introduced the Mormons have continued to change it, by deleting many essential parts of the original version.   (MORE).
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2. Why is it that numerous LDS books and papers describe proposed Book of Mormon locations for cities and the "narrow neck of land"? No city has been identified as being Nephite, Lamanite, Jaredite, etc. For example, Zarahemla was occupied for hundreds of years, but we still don't have any real evidence of it ever existing. The Book of Mormon describes a time period from 2000 BC to 400 AD and millions of people. No city they occupied has yet to be found.
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The D&C says (116, also 78:15 and 107:53-57) that the Garden of Eden was in Missouri, but the Book of Moses (PoGP, supposedly written by the prophet Moses, 3:10-16) says it was near the River Euphrates, which to Moses and his hearers meant the river in present-day Iraq.
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3. Why didn't any of the place names from the Book of Mormon still exist when Columbus arrived?
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The Book of Mormon claims to be the story of devout Jews in America, but demonstrates almost no knowledge of Jewish laws and customs (Passover, the Feasts, clean/unclean observance, etc.).   (MORE)
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4. Where was the Hill Cumorah? Was it in New York or Central America? If it was in Central America, why hasn't it been found? If it was in New York, how did they move that quickly and where are all the remains?
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The Book of Mormon says that one must be saved in this life - after you die, it's too late (Alma 34:32-35).  But Mormons spend much time and effort in baptizing dead non-Mormons in proxy ceremonies so that they can be saved in the afterlife.
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5. Why don't gaps exist in the archeological record of Mesoamerica if these missing people existed?
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Joseph Smith secretly "married" over thirty women, some of them mere teenagers, others with husbands still living.   Many of these liaisons he kept secret from his wife Emma, as well as from the general church membership. (MORE)
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6. Did the Book of Mormon take place outside of Mesoamerica? The History of the Church records an incident from June, 1834 in which JS identified a skeleton found in an Indian burial mound in Illinois: ". . . the visions of the past being opened to my understanding by the Spirit of the Almighty, I discovered the person whose skeleton was before us was a white Lamanite, a large, thick-set man, and a man of God. His name was Zelph . . . who was known from the Hill Cumorah, or eastern sea to the Rocky mountains." (HOC 1948 ed., II: 79-80).
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The Book of Mormon describes the people of ancient America as having domestic cattle.  This is false - the ancient Americans had no domestic cattle.
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7. Why don't any archeologists theorize any Hebrew or Egyptian linkages or influences in Mesoamerica?
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The one prayer which Jesus commanded his disciples to use (the "Lord's Prayer") is almost never used by Mormons.
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Book of Mormon Script
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The "Word of Wisdom" (D&C 89:8) recommends using tobacco as a poultice for bruises, and for sick cattle.   This has no medical basis in fact.
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1. Why are Greek names such as Lachoneus, Timothy, Jonas, and Alpha & Omega in a book that should have absolutely no Greek influence?
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The Book of Abraham describes Egyptian sacred places in Babylon (Abraham 1:8, 20).  This is historically false.
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2. Why aren't there other examples of "Reformed Egyptian" in Ancient America?
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The church teaches that homosexuality is a personal choice (and therefore a willful sin).   This is contrary to almost all scientific research on homosexuality.
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3. Why doesn't a linguistical relationship exist between any native American language and ancient Egyptian or Hebrew?
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A basic teaching of the Book of Mormon is that the American Indians are descendants of Israelites who arrived in America about 600 BC.  Anthropologists have shown that there is no Hebrew ancestry in native Americans, who are rather descendants of immigrants from eastern Asia who came to America at least 15,000 years ago, long before Book of Mormon times.   (MORE)
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4. How did the Book of Mormon language evolve so rapidly into non-related Indian languages? Indo-European is much older than the Book of Mormon time period, yet vestiges of Indo-European exist through all of Europe and parts of Asia.
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Mormon scripture says that God lives near the star "Kolob" (Abraham 3:3-10).   Mormons are unable to identify that star with any known star.
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5. Why are only four main types of Mesoamerican writing systems known (and none in pre-Columbus North America): (Aztec, Mixtec, Zapotec, and Maya)?
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Mormons believe that marriages performed in a Mormon temple are for "time and all eternity" - that is, the couple will be in a married state in heaven.  But Jesus said that this is a false idea - there is no married state in heaven (Matt 22:23-30, Mark 12:18-25, Luke 20:27-36).
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6. Why can't the Anthon transcript (which contains copies of the supposed Reformed Egyptian characters) be identified with any forms of Egyptian? The only three Egyptologists that have looked at it say it does not contain any Egyptian (Ferguson Collection, BYU)
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Joseph Smith was supposedly a prophet, and he made many prophecies, most of which failed.  (MORE)
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7. If the Book of Mormon took place outside of Mesoamerica (like in New York where the Hill Cumorah supposedly is), why are written languages of ancient America only found in Mesoamerica?
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Mormons believe that anyone can verify the truth of Mormonism by praying to God for confirmation (Moroni 10:4.  This is not a testable means of obtaining information, especially in light of the fact that many other religions make the same claim, and apparently are confirmed as true by the same method.
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8. Why haven't any of the Book of Mormon proper names such as Nephi, Laman, Zarahemla, etc. been found in all of the many writings that have been found in Mesoamerica?
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The Book of Mormon (Jacob 2:24) says that God considered the multiple wives of David and Solomon to be an "abomination."  But the D&C (132:38-39) says that it was not wrong.
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Book of Mormon Races
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Mormons claim that their church is patterned after the early church of Jesus' apostles, but there are major differences.  (MORE)
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1. If the Book of Mormon is true, why do Indians fail to turn white when they become Mormons? (2 Nephi 30:6, prior to the 1981 revision).
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The gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was supposedly translated, containing the sacred records of devout Jews, were written in a form of Egyptian, not Hebrew, according to the Book of Mormon.   That is extremely implausible, in view of the attitude of Jews toward their language and its sanctity, and their hatred of all things Egyptian.   Also, there is no other historical example of Jews keeping sacred or historical records in Egyptian.
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2. Why aren't any of the Indian tribes racially or genetically the same as Hebrews? American Indians are all of Mongoloid origin.
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Mormons believe literally in the Bible story of the Great Flood.  There is no credible evidence that there was such a world-wide flood.
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3. Why did Joseph Smith send missionaries to the "Lamanites" if the American Indians at the time weren't really "Lamanites"? (D&C 10:48, 28:8, 54:8, etc.) He certainly considered the Indians to be Lamanites (even if the current leaders of the church no longer believe them to be so). ' The Book of Mormon is a record of the forefathers of our western tribes of Indians. By it we learn that our western tribes of Indians are descendants from that Joseph who was sold into Egypt, and that the land of America is a promised land unto them.' (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 17). 'He told me of a sacred record which was written on plates of gold, I saw in the vision the place where they were deposited, he said the Indians were the literal descendants of Abraham.' (Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, Diary 1835-1836, pg. 76). (Note - this was one of Smith's 'founding visions'. Apparently, Moroni was not aware that there were other, non-Semitic natives in America either).
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Mormons assert that they no longer practice polygamy and that it is no longer church doctrine.   However, the D&C still contains the revelations authorizing it and commanding it (Sections 132 and 131:1-4), and present-day Mormon men, under certain circumstances, can be married to more than one wife for the afterlife.
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Book of Mormon Witnesses
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Mormons consider the present president of the church to be a prophet, and consider his pronouncements to be God's word.   According to many experts on religious cults, this is one of the signs of a cult.
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1. Why were the witnesses only allowed to see the plates with "spiritual eyes"?
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Many Mormons assert that the reason polygamy was practiced in early Utah was because there were not enough men to provide husbands for worthy women.  This is historically false - Utah census records for the 19th century show that Utah had a considerable excess of men.
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2. If the plates were real, why would it take faith to see them? (D&C17:2) (How could he have translated without the plates, as his scribes said, if he was doing a literal translation of a physical object?)
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The Book of Mormon (Ether 1:33 ff) portrays the Tower of Babel and the confusion of languages that occurred there as historical fact.   No linguistic scholar accepts the Babel story as a historical event or as the origin of the world's different languages.
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3. Why does the church now extol the witnesses when Joseph Smith condemned them?
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Joseph Smith taught that one of the tests of whether a revelation was really from God was its consistency with previous revelations:  if it contradicted previous revelations, it was not from God.  Many of his revelations, and the revelations of many of his successor prophets, have indeed contradicted previous revelations.
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4. Why would most of them leave the church?
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The Book of Mormon (Book of Ether 6) describes a 344-day oceanic voyage by the Jaredites in small submarine-like "barges" with only two air holes (one in the top and one in the bottom, i.e., only one usable at a time).   These boats contained not only people, but livestock of many kinds, apparently with enough food and water that no landfall was necessary.   This is completely impossible. (MORE)
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5. Why did Brigham Young say that the 3 witnesses doubted and disbelieved in their experience? "Some of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon, who handled the plates and conversed with the angels of God, were afterwards left to doubt and disbelieve that they had ever seen an angel." (JOD 7:164 1859).
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In the 1980s a master forger named Mark Hofmann was able to sell numerous forged documents to the church leaders.   The documents purported to be early writings by prominent Mormons which would put the church in a bad light.  The church bought them in order to avoid their becoming widely known.  The supposed prophets of God were apparently not warned by God that they were being duped. (MORE)
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6. Why were all of the witnesses (except Martin Harris) related to Joseph Smith or David Whitmer?
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In the 1840s Dr. John C. Bennett joined the church and became Joseph Smith's closest associate.  Joseph Smith was not warned by God that Bennett was a scoundrel and adulterer, having abandoned a wife and children.
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Book of Mormon Style and Inconsistencies
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The Book of Mormon describes the ancient Americans as fighting with steel swords.   Neither steel nor metal weapons were known in ancient America.
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1. If God was inspiring the translation process of the Book of Mormon, why were 4,000 changes necessary?
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Joseph Smith claimed to have seen in vision both the prophet Elijah and the prophet Elias (D&C 27:6-9).  He apparently was unaware that in the Bible those two names refer to only one prophet (one is the Hebrew version of the name, the other Greek).   (MORE)
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2. Why do the stories and the characters in the Book of Mormon repeat with only minor variations in content and different names given to the characters? Example: Nephi and Moroni sound and act like the same character. "There were other Anti-Christs among the Nephites, but they were more military leaders than religious innovators . . . they are all of one breed and brand; so nearly alike that one mind is the author of them, and that a young and undeveloped, but piously inclined mind. The evidence I sorrowfully submit, points to Joseph Smith as their creator. It is difficult to believe that they are the product of history, that they come upon the scene separated by long periods of time, and among a race which was the ancestral race of the red man of America." (B. H. Roberts - Studies of the Book of Mormon, page 271).
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Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley in several interviews for news media has said that he did not know much about whether the church teaches that God was once a man.   But this has been a fundamental teaching of the church for many years.   Either Hinckley is woefully ignorant about his own church's doctrines, or he is lying. (MORE)
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3. Why was the Book of Mormon cast into the KJV style? "...there is a continual use of the 'thee', 'thou' and 'ye', as well as the archaic verb endings 'est' (second person singular) and 'eth' (third person singular). Since the Elizabethan style was not Joseph's natural idiom, he continually slipped out of this King James pattern and repeatedly confused the norms as well. Thus he lapsed from 'ye' (subject) to 'you' (object) as the subject of sentences (e.g. 'Mos. 2:19; 3:34; 4:24), jumped from plural ('ye') to singular ('thou') in the same sentence (Mos. 4:22) and moved from verbs without endings to ones with endings (e.g. 'yields . . . putteth,' 3:19)." (The Use of the Old Testament in the Book of Mormon, by Wesley P. Walters, 1990, page 30).
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"Zion's Camp" (the 1834 Mormon military expedition sent from Ohio to Missouri to protect Mormon settlers there) failed utterly, even though it was organized pursuant to revelations to Joseph Smith.   One of the important factors causing its failure was that over one third of the army contracted cholera.   Joseph Smith was at a loss as to how to deal with the disease, and God did not tell him how to prevent its spread (it could have been prevented if God had told Joseph Smith to boil all the drinking water).
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4. Was there a room full of plates in a secret chamber in the hill near Joseph's house as he and Brigham Young said?
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Mormon scripture says that the Christian gospel (belief in Jesus Christ, his atonement, necessity of baptism, etc.) were known to Adam and to subsequent Old Testament prophets.  There is no corroborating evidence of this.
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5. Why were cliched Indian phrases like "Nine Moons" in (Omni 1:21) or "Great Spirit" in (Alma 19:25-27) included?
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Mormons are unable to give a satisfactory explanation of why it was so important for the angel to preserve and guard the gold plates and for Joseph Smith to obtain them, since Joseph Smith usually did not even have the plates present in the same room in order to dictate the Book of Mormon text to his scribes.
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6. How did the Jaredites come up with the same rare idea of writing on plates 2,000 years before Lehi when such a record keeping system is virtually unknown?
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In the official version of Joseph Smith's "first vision" he states that it occurred in 1820 as a result of his being moved by a large religious revival in the area to wonder which church was the true church.   There was no such religious revival in the area between 1817 and 1824.  This throws doubt on the entire chronology of events as depicted by Joseph Smith. (MORE)
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7. Why include the ridiculous prayer of the Zoramites in Alma 31?
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Joseph Smith produced an "inspired translation" of the Bible.   It was not a translation in any sense, but rather his own corrections and additions to the King James translation, made without consulting any ancient texts or manuscripts.   His changes are not supported by any non-Mormon biblical text scholarship, and in fact preserve many of the errors which biblical scholarship has since discovered in the King James version.
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8. Why is the Passover mentioned 71 times in the Bible, but -0- times in the Book of Mormon?
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Church historians are unable to provide any contemporary documentation for the restoration of the Melchizedek priesthood through a visit to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery by the resurrected apostles Peter, James and John, even though it is this event upon which the church claims to have its highest authority.
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9. How did Book of Mormon characters get the priesthood when they weren't from the tribe of Levi?
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The original text of the Book of Mormon was supposedly engraved on metal plates, a slow and laborious process.   The translation, however, is frequently wordy, verbose, repetitive, characteristic of something dictated. (MORE)
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10. Why was Shakespeare used?
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Mormon scripture says that the earth has (will have) a "temporal existence" of seven thousand years (D&C 77:6-7).   This is contrary to all scientific evidence about the age of the earth.
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11. What was the purpose in Moroni taking the plates back? Similarly, what ever happened to the parchment written by John of the New Testament? (D&C 7) Why weren't the supposed writings of Abraham (which were actually common A.D. funerary texts) also taken similarly back?
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Mormons teach that a rape victim has "lost her chastity"; a woman should fight off her attacker or be killed in the attempt.  Thus, young Mormon women are taught that their chastity is more valuable than their life.   The result is that a Mormon woman who survives a rape is made to feel guilty, and is thus victimized again, this time by her church.
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12. Why did Joseph's own accounts confuse whether he was visited by Moroni or Nephi. "He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Nephi." (J. Smith - Times & Seasons Vol. 3, p. 753 1842) also (J. Smith 1851 PoGP p. 41).
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The Book of Mormon contains many lengthy passages almost identical to passages in the King James translation of the Bible, including some of its mistranslations.
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Prophecies in the Book of Mormon
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Mormon scripture asserts (D&C OD-1) that God would not allow any president of the church to "lead [it] astray."  God would "remove [him] out of his place" rather than permit that - presumably by causing his premature death.  Joseph Smith was removed at the height of his power, at the age of 39, when he was being accused by many Mormons of leading the church astray with his polygamous doctrines, his megalomania and his financial schemes.   One could assume that God "removed" him and that he was indeed leading the church astray.
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1. Why are the prophecies in the Book of Mormon dealing with events that already occurred unrealistically specific?
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The Book of Mormon describes a detailed monetary system based on various pieces of gold and silver (Alma 11:4-20).   There is no evidence that any such system was ever used in any ancient American civilization, whose economies were based entirely on the barter system.  The most common exchange currency of the Mayas and Aztecs was cocoa beans, which are never mentioned in the Book of Mormon.
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o Three Witnesses.
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Mormon scholars and prophets disagree on the location of the Hill Cumorah, where two great battles in the Book of Mormon took place.   Some insist it was in Central America or southern Mexico, but others insist it was in New York state.  The proponents of the Mexican location cite the impossibility of the New York view.  Their opponents cite the fact that Moroni and Joseph Smith identified the New York location specifically.
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o Charles Anthon story.
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Mormons often obtain a "patriarchal blessing" when in late teens or early twenties.  This is a solemn blessing pronounced by an ordained "patriarch" telling the recipients about what life holds for them if they are obedient Mormons.  It also tells the person from which tribe of Israel that person is descended (usually Ephraim or Manasseh).   The blessing is recorded and transcribed for future reference.  This is just a form of fortune-telling.  Many blessings are vague and worded very conditionally.  Those which are more specific are often not verified by events.
+
o Columbus described.
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Many of the astronomical ideas in the Book of Abraham are similar to those in popular scientific books of Joseph Smith's time, and have proven incorrect.
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o Joseph Smith's name given.
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The long passages in the Book of Mormon copied from Isaiah seem to serve no purpose, since God would not have to provide them in the Book of Mormon to the audience for the Book of Mormon (the people of the 19th century) - they were already available in the Bible.
+
o Smith called to be the translator of the Mormon record.
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Mormonism's view of gender is that there are only two (male and female).   This is no longer considered scientifically accurate, since geneticists now recognize that some people are born with sexual traits of both genders, and surgery is needed to adjust the physical body of such a person to conform to one gender or the other.  (See the website of the Intersex Society of North America.) If Mormon, such persons are denied entrance to Mormon temples, and thus are denied the possibility of attaining the highest degree of Mormon heaven.
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o Jerusalem destroyed.
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In Mormon theology "Lucifer" is the revealed name of Satan.  Although many Christians also believe that, the idea is due to a mistaken translation of the passage in Isaiah (14:12; also Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 24:12), a mistake which occurred only when Isaiah was translated into Latin in the fourth century AD, long after the alleged date that Nephi was writing. (MORE)
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o 600 years until Jesus is born.
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Although Mormon scriptures and Mormon sermons denounce lying, and although Mormon scriptures say that any message that is not given "in the spirit of truth" is not from God (D&C 50:17-18 and D&C 129:7), Mormon leaders have not hesitated to lie to the membership and to the public about their history, their doctrine, and their practices. (MORE)
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o Martin Harris and the lost manuscripts. (1 Nephi 9, Words of Mormon)
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The Mormon temple ceremony (the "endowment") includes rituals in which participants learn four secret handshakes ("tokens") and four secret passwords (the "names" of the tokens) which will be needed to gain entrance to heaven.   Not only is the idea absurd and unscriptural, but it overlooks the fact that many former Mormons have learned them as well.   The question naturally arises as to whether knowing the secret tokens and their names is really sensible or necessary. (MORE)
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o Why do the unfulfilled prophecies in the Book of Mormon remain unfulfilled? Example: Jews becoming Christian in mass.
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When Martin Harris took home the first 116 pages of the manuscript for the Book of Mormon in order to demonstrate to his skeptical wife that he was justified in financing the book's publication, the pages disappeared.   Smith was frantic.  He soon received a revelation (D&C 10:1-19) telling him not to re-translate that portion of the plates, since "wicked men" would alter the original translation and use it to cast doubts on Smith's work.   That explanation does not seem to make sense, since any alterations on a manuscript would be obvious.  The more likely explanation is that Smith knew he was unable to reproduce the same text word-perfect.   One must also wonder why God did not realize that Mrs. Harris had simply burned the manuscript in order to put an end to her husband's involvement.
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1. Why is the Book of Mormon quite specific about Christ but does not add anything that the New Testament does not address (for example, what Christ did from age 12 - 30)?
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According to Mormon scripture (D&C 84:19-22) no man can see God unless he has the Melchizedek priesthood.  This revelation was given in 1832.   The priesthood was supposedly restored at some unknown date in 1829 or 1830.   But Joseph Smith claimed in the 1830s to have seen God in 1820, long before he received the priesthood.   (The implication is also that no woman can ever see God, since women cannot hold the Mormon priesthood.)
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2. Why does the Book of Mormon prophesy that the Jews would be restored to the land of their inheritance if they believed in Christ (they are occupying it now w/o believing in Christ)? (2 Nephi 10:7)
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Two elements of Mormonism combine to teach children to lie. First, they are taught that they should strive to be perfect.   Then they are required to be interviewed in private by a church authority (usually the local bishop) as to whether they are "worthy" for the next advancement.  If they tell the truth about their failings they risk not being able to advance.  If they lie, they are advanced.  But their advancement is then accompanied by feelings of guilt or by a realization that lying is the way to advance.  (MORE)
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3. Why did Alma not know when Christ was coming (Alma 13:21-26) even though he possessed plates and Lehi and Nephi had written precisely when he would arrive?
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There is considerable evidence that the Book of Mormon was originally simply a money-making project, the latest in Joseph Smith's attempts to find wealth by seeking buried treasure.   One telling item of evidence is that Joseph Smith attempted to sell the rights to the book after it was published, but could not find a buyer.
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Influenced by Joseph Smith's background
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It seems odd that Joseph Smith remembers very precisely the date of the visitation of the angel Moroni (or was it "Nephi"? - September 21, 1823), but he is unable to give a date for his claimed 1820 vision of God and Christ ("early in the spring" PoGP, JS-H 1:14) nor an accurate date for the momentous visitation by Peter, James and John, when they restored the Melchizedek priesthood.   (Mormon historians can only date that event as sometime in 1829 or early 1830.)
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1. Why are themes of the revolutionary war and patriotism (liberty, freedom, country, religion, flags, etc.) woven throughout a book supposedly written over a thousand years before the revolutionary war?
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In 1843 six brass plates with strange characters engraved on them were found in an Indian burial mound near Kinderhook, Illinois.   They were taken to Joseph Smith, since he claimed to be able to translate ancient writings.   He wrote in the Mormon newspaper Times and Seasons (April 1843) that they were a history of the person with whose bones they had been found, who "was a descendant of Ham, through the loins of Pharaoh, king of Egypt."  (History of the Church, 5:372-379).   The plates were an elaborate hoax, although many Mormons continued to cite them as corroboration of the Book of Mormon, as late as the 1949 edition of the History (5:378n). (MORE)
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2. Why is an agrarian society similar to the society Joseph was most familiar with described as the setting for the entire book?
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Mormons insist that the name of true church of Christ must include his name, citing 1 Cor 1:11-15 and 3 Nephi 27:3-8.   But on May 3, 1834, the original name of the church ("Church of Christ") was changed to "The Church of the Latter-day Saints," thus deleting any reference to the name of Christ.   It retained that name until April 1838, when it was renamed "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" (D&C 115:3-4).   Applying the Mormons' own test, their church was then not the "true" church for almost four years of its early history.
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3. Why is a democracy after a monarchy described? (Mosiah 23, 29) - As happened in the history of the U.S.
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Although the truth is not subject to popularity votes, it is interesting that there are probably more people who have left the Mormon church than there are now active (practicing) Mormons.  These are primarily people who were raised as Mormons or who converted to Mormonism, but who left it.  Rather than being (as the official Mormon press releases claim) "one of the fastest-growing religions", its growth is stagnating, and its membership numbers are artificially inflated to disguise the hemorrhaging membership. (MORE)
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4. Is it purely coincidental that there was much speculation in Joseph Smith's area about Indian Mounds and battles?
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Yes, that is already the promised 101, but the list goes on!
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5. Why does the Book of Mormon describe wood forts with pickets to protect people--much like the forts of frontier?
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When a visitor to Nauvoo showed Joseph Smith the ancient manuscript of a collection of psalms written in Greek, Joseph Smith identified it incorrectly as containing "Reformed Egyptian" writing.   (Henry Caswell, The City of the Mormons, London 1842.   35-43, cited in Grant Palmer, An Insider's View of Mormon Origins, Salt Lake City 2002, pp 34-36.)
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6. Is it purely coincidental that Lehi had six sons as did Joseph Smith Sr., Sam/Samuel were sons of both, and Nephi and Joseph Smith Jr. were so similar?
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The Mormon sacred undergarment has a marking over each nipple, one in the shape of a compass, the other a square.  They also appear in the Mormon temple on the "veil of the temple."  These two symbols are of course the well-known Masonic symbols, where - in the context of building crafts - they make sense.  They seem quite out of place in Mormon theology, and an obvious borrowing by Joseph Smith.   Nor are they mentioned in any Mormon scripture.
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7. Why did Mormon, Nephi and other "heroes" of the Book of Mormon have so many common traits with Joseph Smith? (large in stature, had visions while a teenager, etc. -- see "The Refiner's Fire" by John Brooke for many more similarities)
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Numerous Bible passages (Ex 28-31; Num 3:7; Neh 7:63,65; Heb 7:12-14) clearly say that only Levites can offer sacrifices.   No Levites are mentioned as accompanying Lehi from Jerusalem.   Yet according to the Book of Mormon, sacrifices were offered by Lehi (1 Nephi 5:9) and his descendants (Mosiah 2:3).   By what authority, then?
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8. Why does the Book of Mormon repeatedly addresses 19th century readers?
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D&C 131 and 132 contain the "new and everlasting covenant" of marriage, announcing the twin doctrines that the correct form of marriage, according to God, is marriage for eternity performed by one holding the "keys," and that it is also polygamous.   D&C 132:3-6 says that whoever receives this law and does not obey it will be damned.   The doctrine was not "new," but rather claimed to be a restoration of the polygamy of the Old Testament patriachs.   Nor was it "everlasting," since the church abandoned polygamy only fifty years after this revelation, and now excommunicates any Mormon who feels obligated to obey this commandment.
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9. Why is the anti-Masonic excitement that arose near Smith's home in 1827 reflected? (Gadianton Robbers / Secret Combos)
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The Book of Abraham says (1:26-27 and 1:20-22 ) that descendants of Ham cannot hold any priesthood, and that all Egyptians are descended from Ham.   Until 1978 this was interpreted to ban anyone with even a single "drop" of Hamitic (Negro) blood.   Most Mormons claim that they are descended from Ephraim or Manasseh, sons of Joseph, based on their individual patriarchal blessings.  Since the mother of those two sons was Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, priest at On (Genesis 41:45, 50), who was undoubtedly Egyptian, it would appear then that no such Mormon was entitled to hold the priesthood (until 1978 at least, when the church chose to disregard this passage of scripture).
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10. Why is infant baptism (a much discussed issue in the early 19th century) condemned in Chapter 8 of Moroni when it wasn't even an issue in the Bible?
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The Book of Mormon frequently condemns secret "combinations" (societies) and the taking of oaths of secrecy.   Yet an essential part of the Mormon temple's endowment ceremony is an emphasis on the secrecy of the oaths taken during the ritual and its other details.
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Influenced by the KJV of the Bible
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The explanation in the Book of Mormon for writing the important records in Egyptian (Mormon 9:32-33) is that it would have required too much space on the precious gold plates to write in Hebrew.   This does not make sense, since Hebrew is a very concise language, using consonants almost exclusively, compared to Egyptian, which required a large number of complex characters and would have been unsuitable for engraving in limited space. (MORE)
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1. Why does the B of M use old KJV type English at a time when it was not currently used.
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2. Why is about 1/8th of the B of M copied directly from the KJV (1611AD) when it was alleged to have been written some 1200-2000 years before the KJV existed?
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3. How do you explain the fact that Joseph Smith copied from the KJV but deleted the italicized words in the KJV because he figured they were not in the original? "Then said I, Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips" Isa 6:5, The words "is & am" are deleted in the Book of Mormon.
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4. Why are portions of Isaiah quoted off of the plates of brass when these items weren't written until after Nephi supposedly got the plates out of Laban's treasury?
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5. Why was Paul referred to before his time? (Paul said, "Death where is thy sting")
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6. Why is it that of the 350 names in the Book of Mormon, 100 are found in the Bible, others are place names found on early 19th century maps, and the rest are derivatives of Bible names?
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7. Why didn't Joseph Smith ever acknowledge using the KJV of the Bible to "translate"?
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8. Why were the following phrases used out of the New Testament supposedly before the New Testament was even thought of--much less written?
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o 1. "oh wretched man that I am" Romans 7:24 / 2 Nephi 4:17
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o 2. "earthquake, rocks rent" Matt 27:51 / 1 Nephi 12:14
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o 3. "old serpent, which is the devil" Rev 20:2 / 2 Nephi 2:18
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o 4. "one faith, one baptism" Ephesians 4:5 / Mosiah 18:21
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o 5. "One man perish" Jesus/Laban / John 11:50 / 1 Nephi 4:13
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1. Why is a Greek word like "Christ" used throughout the Book of Mormon?
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2. Why does the Book of Mormon always follow KJV errors?
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3. Why don't the Book of Mormon quotes from out of the Old Testament agree to earlier Latin, Syriac, Coptic, or Patristic texts?
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4. Example: Matthew 5:27 and 3 Nephi 12:27 "by them of old time" not included in earliest Greek (should have said "to them of old")
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5. Matthew 6:4, 6, 18 and 3 Nephi :4, 6, 18 "openly" added later
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6. Matt 6:13 and 3 Nephi 13:13 "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" should have said, "and do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one".
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7. Why does the phrase "the lamb of God" appear only in the New Testament portion of the Bible yet it appears in the Book of Mormon over 30 times--28 times in 1 Nephi alone?
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8. Why do the words of Malachi 4:1 appear in 1 Nephi 22:15 over a hundred years before Malachi wrote them?
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9. Why do so many stories seem like exaggerated borrowings from the Bible? Examples:
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o Ammon killed six sheep rustlers with a sling (Alma 17:36) vs. David's killing of Goliath. (1 Samuel 17:50)
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o Pillar of Fire. (Exodus 13:21) vs. (1 Nephi 1:6)
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o Lord instructs Noah to build the Ark (Genesis 6:14) / Lord instructs Nephi to build ship (1 Nephi 17:8) / Lord instructs Jaredites to build barges (Ether 2:16)
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o Jaredites brought flocks, two of a kind, seeds. (Ether 2:1) vs. Noah doing the same in (Genesis 7:9)
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o Raising dead. (Matthew 10:8) vs. (3 Nephi 19:4)
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o Temple of Solomon supposedly took 180,000 people seven and a half years to build (1 Kings 5, 6) / The few in number Nephites supposedly did it in less than 20 years after arriving (2 Nephi 5).
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o Calming Storm (1 Nephi 18:8-21) vs. (Matthew 8:23-27).
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o Men in Fire (Helaman 5:22-24) vs. (Daniel 3).
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o Feeding Multitude (3 Nephi 20:3-7) out of nothing / In Bible, Christ multiplied existing food (Matthew 14).
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o Christ heals masses in Book of Mormon (3 Nephi 17:9) / in Bible Jesus healed as he encountered (Luke 9:42).
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o Multitude feels wounds in Book of Mormon (3 Nephi 11:13) / In Bible, Thomas felt wounds (John 20:27).
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o Book of Mormon prophecies of Christ specific / Bible prophecies veiled (actually non-existent unless scripture misquoted or "prophecies" stretched to have two meanings).
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o Book of Mormon Christ is completely accepted / In Bible he is rejected.
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o Aminadi deciphered writing on the wall (Alma 10:2-3) like Daniel (Daniel 5).
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o Daughter of Jared danced before the king (Ether 8) like the daughter of Herodias (Matthew 14) (decapitation followed in both cases).
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o Daughters of Lamanites abducted like the daughters of Shiloh.
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o Jews of Old Testament were monotheists / Pre-Christ Jews of Book of Mormon were not.
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Influenced by happenings of early 19th century America
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1. Why does the Book of Mormon confuse the Old and New Covenants? It stresses that before Christ, the faithful kept the Law of Moses (2 Nephi 5:10; 25:23-25, 20; Alma 30:3), yet they also established churches, taught and practiced Christian baptism, and were conversant with New Testament doctrines and events (e.g. 2 Nephi 9:23; Mosiah 18:17). In the Bible, the Old Covenant is taken away to establish the New according to Paul and his followers (Heb. 10:9). The Book of Mormon intermingles the covenants. Paul was the man who first tried to reconcile the Old to the New convenant--not anyone during Old Testament times.
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2. Why does the Book of Mormon discuss the concept of infinite sins paid by an infinite being? (Alma 12) This idea was originated by Anselm of Canterbury and was a raging debate during the time of Joseph Smith.
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3. Why does the Book of Mormon's teachings reflect the religious conflicts of the early 19th century including: grace, infant baptism, ordination, authority, repentance, resurrection, eternal punishment, fall of man, nature of man, fasting, etc.?
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4. Why were there missionaries in the Book of Mormon before Christ? That certainly wasn't the case in the Old World.
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5. Why is King Benjamin's oratory like a 19th century camp meeting?
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6. Revival gathering (Mosiah 2)
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7. Guilt ridden falling exercise (4:1-2)
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8. Petition for spiritual emancipation (4:2)
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9. Absolution and ecstasy (4:3)
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10. Repentance (4:4-8)
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11. Born again (5:7)
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12. Take name of Christ (5:8-15)
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13. Why do other works early in Joseph Smith's lifetime teach that the Indians were descended from the Hebrews?
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14. Was "View of the Hebrews" one of the sources? B. H. Roberts (Studies of Book of Mormon pp.240,242) said, "But now to return . . . to the main theme of this writing -- viz., did Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews furnish structural material for Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon? It has been pointed out in these pages that there are many things in the former book that might well have suggested many major things in the other. Not a few things merely, one or two, or a half dozen, but many; and it is this fact of many things of similarity and the cumulative force of them that makes them so serious a menace to Joseph Smith's story of the Book of Mormon's origin . . ."
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15. Was Josiah Priest's book "The Wonders of Nature and Providence", copyrighted by him June 2nd, 1824, and printed soon afterwards in Rochester, New York, only some twenty miles distant from Palmyra a source?
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16. Was James Adair's "A History of the American Indians" a source? On pages 377-378, he wrote the following about the Indians: "Through the whole continent, and in the remotest woods, are traces of their ancient warlike disposition. We frequently met with great mounds of earth, either of a circular, or oblong form, having a strong breast-work at a distance around them, made of the clay which had been dug up in forming the ditch on the inner side of the inclosed ground, and these were their forts of security against an enemy... About 12 miles from the upper northern parts of the Choktah country, there stand...two oblong mounds of earth...in an equal direction with each other... A broad deep ditch inclosed those two fortress, and there they raised an high breast-work, to secure their houses from the invading enemy." In Alma it states, "Yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort: throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies...the Nephites were taught...never to raise the sword except it were against an enemy... they had cast up dirtround to shield them from the arrows...the chief captains of the Lamanites were astonished exceedingly, because of the wisdom of the Nephites in preparing their places of security...they knew not that Moroni had fortified, or had built forts of security in all the land roundabout ...the Lamanites could not get into their forts of security...because of the highness of the bank which had been thrown up, and the depth of the ditch which had been dug round about...they (the Lamanites) began to dig down their banks of earth...that they might have an equalchance to fight...instead of filling up their ditches by pulling down banks of earth, they were filled up in a measure with their dead...And (Moroni) caused them to erect fortifications that they should commence laboring in digging a ditch round about the land...And he caused that they should build a breastwork of timbers upon the inner bank of the ditch: and they did cast up dirt out of the ditch against the breastwork of timbers".
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17. Why are there other direct word parallels between Adair and the Book of Mormon such as Omni 1:21 and page 125 of Adair which says, "...for the space of four moons..." or page 122 which says "for the space of three days and nights..." and Alma 36:10.
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Main themes of Mormonism not in Book of Mormon:
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1. Why isn't the Elohim (God) being the father of Jehovah (Jesus) and being once a mortal man discussed? (In fact, God and Jesus appear to be one in the same being in the Book of Mormon--especially in the first edition).
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2. What about God having a body of flesh and bones, God being married, men becoming Gods, temple participation necessary for exaltation, baptism for the dead, Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood, word of wisdom, and 3 degrees of glory?
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3. Why is polygamy condemned in the Book of Mormon, but condoned in the D&C and still believed to be necessary in church doctrine for exaltation in the after-life?
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4. Where are such doctrines as a man having to marry in order to be exalted, member having to wear sacred undergarments, official doctrine being voted upon by the general membership, God being the offspring of another God, etc.?
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Treasure Hunting and Magic
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1. Why was Joseph Smith arrested for "money digging" and convicted of being a disorderly person? He admitted to being a money digger, though he said it was never very profitable for him (History of the Church, V. 3, p. 29). He and his father's money digging continued until at least 1826. On March 20th, 1826, Joseph was arrested, brought before a judge, and charged with being a "glass-looker" and a disorderly person. The laws at that time had what was known as the "Vagrant Act." It defined a disorderly person as one who pretended to have skill in the areas of palmistry, telling fortunes or discovering where lost goods might be found. According to court records Justice Neely determined that Joseph was guilty, though no penalty was administered, quite possibly because this was a first offense (Inventing Mormonism, Marquardt and Walters, SLC: Signature Books, 1994, pp.74-75).
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2. Why did Joseph Smith have to use a seer stone both before and after being called as a prophet?
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3. Why did the Book of Mormon have to be translated while he looked into the seer stone placed in a black top hat? D. Michael Quinn writes: "During this period from 1827 to 1830, Joseph Smith abandoned the company of his former money-digging associates, but continued to use for religious purposes the brown seer stone he had previously employed in the treasure quest. His most intensive and productive use of the seer stone was in the translation of the Book of Mormon. But he also dictated several revelations to his associates through the stone" (Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, D. Michael Quinn, Signature Books, SLC, 1987, p. 143). Richard S. Van Wagoner writes: "This stone, still retained by the First Presidency of the LDS Church, was the vehicle through which the golden plates were discovered and the medium through which their interpretation came" (Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess, Signature Books, SLC, 1994, p.57).
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4. Why would a prophet need to send members to seek for treasure seen in a vision? See D&C 111. Why wasn't any found when the revelation states they would?
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5. Did the Jaredites magic stones have anything to do with Joseph's acquaintance with magic stones?
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6. Why does the Book of Mormon discuss "slippery treasure" so much?
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First Vision
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1. Why do the accounts differ with respect to who was in the vision? See "The New Mormon History : Revisionist Essays on the Past " for more on this.
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2. Why doesn't Jesus show up (separate from God) until after the God doctrine had evolved into a plurality of Gods? (i.e., after 1835)
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3. Why don't the early "prophets" even know the story accurately? "The Lord did not come with the armies of heaven...But he did send His angel to this same obscure person, Joseph Smith jun...and informed him that he should not join any of the religious sects of the day, for they were all wrong" (B. Young - JOD Volume 2 p.171 1855).
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4. "How did it (the organization) come? By the ministering of an holy angel from God, out of heaven, who held converse with man, and revealed unto him the darkness that enveloped the world...He told him the Gospel was not among men, and that there was not a true organization of His kingdom in the world." (Wilford Woodruff - JOD Volume 11 p.196 1855).
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5. "How did the state of things called Mormonism originate? We read that an angel came down and revealed himself to Joseph Smith and manifested unto him in a vision the true position of the world in a religious point of view. He was surrounded with light and glory while the heavenly messenger communicated these things to him." (John Taylor - JOD Volume 10 p.127 1863).
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6. "When the holy angel appeared, Joseph inquired which of all these denominations was right and which he should join, and was told they were all wrong." (George A. Smith - JOD Volume 12 p.334 1863).
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7. Why doesn't any published source mention the "official" first vision account until 1842--22 years after the "official" event supposedly happened?
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8. Why doesn't the 1st vision play an important role in Mormon history until the 1860s? No one seems to mention it before then even though it is now deemed by Mormons to be the most important event in almost 2,000 years.
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9. Why isn't there evidence to support the revival described by Joseph Smith in early 1820--yet there is evidence to support revivals several years later? Joseph Smith's neighborhood experienced no revival in 1820 such as he described, in which great multitudes joined the Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches. According to early sources, including church conference reports, newspapers, church periodicals, presbytery records and published interviews, nothing occurred in 1820-21 that fits Joseph's description. There were no significant gains in church membership in the Palmyra-Manchester, New York area, during 1820-21 such as accompany great revivals. For example, in 1820, the Baptist Church in Palmyra only received 8 people through profession of faith and baptism, the Presbyterian church added 14 members, while the Methodist circuit lost 6 members, dropping from 677 in 1819 to 671 in 1820 and down to 622 in 1821 (see Geneva area Presbyterian Church Records, Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, PA; Records for the First Baptist Church in Palmyra, American Baptist Historical Society, Rochester, NY; Minutes of the [Methodist] annual Conference, Ontario Circuit, 1818-1821, pp. 312, 330, 346, 366).
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10. Why does Lucy Smith (his mother) indicate that the revival occurred around 1824? Her son, Alvin died on November 19, 1823, and following that painful loss Lucy Smith reports that, "about this time there was a great revival in religion and the whole neighborhood was very much aroused to the subject and we among the rest, flocked to the meeting house to see if there was a word of comfort for us that might relieve our over-charged feelings" (First draft of Lucy Smith's History, p. 55, LDS Church Archives). Church records from that time period show outstanding increases in membership due to the reception of new converts. The Baptist Church received 94, the Presbyterian 99, while the Methodist work grew by 208. "You will recollect that I mentioned the time of a religious excitement, in Palmyra and vicinity to have been in the 15th year of our Brother J. Smith Jr's, age that was an error in the type- it should have been the 17th...This would bring the date down to the year 1823." (Oliver Cowdrey - Times & Seasons Vol. 2, p. 241 1840). For further details see, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Spring 1969, pp. 59-100.
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11. Why does his first autobiography not even mention the "first vision"?
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12. Why does Joseph Smith have Lehi make such a statement as 1 Nephi 8:2? Is he equating a dream to an actual, physical vision or visitation from God?

Latest revision as of 20:00, 5 July 2012

Difficult Questions for Mormons

General questions: 1. Why did the angel take Nephi Plates back to heaven? Do they not belong with man? Would not their existence prove once for all that Mormonism is truth? God allowed the Jews to carry the 10 commandments for several centuries in their original physical form, written by the finger of God Himself! 2. "Will you, as a Mormon, please read the Bible cover to cover and ask God to reveal to you that it contains all of God's message to man and that parts are not lost or altered and that the Book of Mormon is false?" 3. If the original 1830 Book of Mormon was inspired than why were there so many errors and changes and additions and deletions, when compared to current editions? 4. How can we be assured that the translation of the B of M into French or any other language is correct? Only the English translation is claimed to be inspired! 5. How do you account for the stunning parallels in both content and order between the B of M and the View of the Hebrews, by Ethan Smith? Published in 1823 (7 years before the B of M) less than 100 miles from the Joseph Smith's parents home. 6. Mormon Article of Faith #8: "We Believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God." Why do you only add the phrase, "as far as it is translated correctly" to describe the Bible and not after the book of Mormon when in fact there are far more translating errors in the Book of Mormon than the Bible? 7. If the Book of Mormon is true, then why has the Mormon church changed it? Examples are: 1 Nephi 11:21; 19:20; 20:1 and Alma 29:4. Compare these with the original Book of Mormon. (Gerald and Sandra Tanner have counted 3913 changes in the book of Mormon, excluding punctuation changes.) 8. How did Joseph Smith carry home the golden plates of the Book of Mormon, and how did the witnesses lift them so easily? (They weighed about 230 lbs. Gold, with a density of 19.3 weighs 1204.7 lbs. per cubic foot. The plates were 7" x 8" by about 6". See Articles of Faith, by Talmage, page 262, 34thed.) 9. If Moroni devoutly practiced the Mormon Gospel, why is he an angel now rather than a God? (Doc. & Cov. 132:17,37) 10. Why do Mormons emphasize part of the Word of Wisdom and ignore the part forbidding the eating of meat except in winter, cold or famine? (Doc. & Cov. 89:12,13). 11. When Christ died, did darkness cover the land for three days or for three hours? (Luke 23:44 and 3 Nephi 8:19, 23). 12. Joseph Smith said that there are men living on the moon who dress like Quakers and live to be nearly 1000 years old. Since he was wrong about the moon, is it safe to trust him regarding the way to Heaven? (The Young Woman's Journal, Vol. 3, pages 263-264. See repreint in Mormonism --Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner, page 4.) 13. Joseph Smith prepared fourteen Articles of Faith. Why has the original No. 11 been omitted? (Joseph Smith Begins His Work, Vol. 2, three pages after page 160, among the photos.) 14. Why did the Nauvoo House not stand forever and ever? (Doc. & Cov. 124:56-60). 15. How can a man who is not a descendant of Aaron hold the Aaronic Priesthood? (Numbers 16:40; Heb. 7:13,14). 16. Since Mormonism teaches that only God the Father had a physical body at the time Adam was created, why did God say, "Let us make man in OUR image"? Why didn't He say, "Let us make man in MY image?" (Gen. 1:26). 17. If Jesus was conceived as a result of a physical union between God and Mary, how was Jesus born of a virgin? (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1, page 50). 18. How did Nephi with a few men on a new continent build a temple like Solomon's while Solomon needed 163,300 workmen and seven years to build his temple? (1 Kings 5:13-18 and 2 Nephi 5:15-17). 19. Why was Joseph Smith still preaching against polygamy in October 1843 after he got his revelation in July 1843 commanding the practice of polygamy? (Doc. & Cov. 132; and History of the Church Vol. 6, page 46, or Teachings of the Prophet, page 324). 20. God rejected the fig leaf aprons which Adam and Eve made (Gen. 3:21). Why do Mormons memorialize the fall by using fig leaf aprons in the secret temple ceremonies? 21. How do you explain the fact that 2 Nephi 16:2 is copied from an older version of the KJV of the Bible in Isa 6:2? This is proven because this older KJV (the mistake is corrected in current versions) made a rare gramatical error by using the incorrect plural form of "seraphims" rather than "seraphim". The series of questions below are provided courtesy of: http://www.california.com/~rpcman/BOMQUEST.HTM Book of Mormon Culture 1. Why does the Book of Mormon mention Silk (Alma 1:29)? LDS Apologist John Welch cites several New World fabrics as possible matches for Linen and Silk (Reexploring the Book of Mormon, pg. 162). Agave fibers and fig bark for Linen? Ceiba fibers, pineapple fibers and rabbit hair for Silk? Welch concludes with the staggering claim 'Mesoamerica evidently exhibits almost an embarrassment of riches for the "silk" and "linen" of Alma 1:29. All but the most trivializing critics should be satisfied with the parallels.' (pg. 164) My response to Welch: You'll have to forgive my trivializing nature but rabbit hair doesn't equal silk in my book. 2. What about Chariots (Alma 18:9)? There is no evidence of actual wheeled vehicle usage in the 2,000 BC to 400 AD time frame in Ancient America. 3. Why does the Book of Mormon imply a seven day week (Mosiah 13:18) when it was not known to Ancient Americans? The Mesoamericans used a variety of calendars, none of which match the Old World calendar. The Maya seemed to be oversupplied in the calendar department. One calendar consisted of a 260-day cycle divided into 13 'months' of twenty days. (This calendar was used by most of the ancient Mesoamericans). Each day was presided over by it's own god. Another consists of a 365-day cycle, also divided into 'months' of twenty days, eighteen of them in fact. The five leftover days were called the 'resting, or sleep of the year'. Another consists of a 3276-day cycle divided into four quadrants of 819 days (the product of 7*9*13, all sacred numbers to the Maya). And then, of course, there was the so-called 'long count' calendar, which simply counted days from the creation of the world (August 11, 3114 BC, if anyone wants to know). (Linda Schele, 'A Forest of Kings', pg. 78). 4. Why are Cimeters, an Old-World weapon of war, mentioned in Mosiah 9:16 and other verses when none have been found to exist in the New World? John Sorenson cites a Mesoamerican 'maccuahuitl' for a Cimiter (An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, pg. 262). The Maccuahuitl was a hardwood club with obsidian blades. A Cimiter is a heavy, two-handed steel blade. What's wrong with this picture? 5. Why have some (like Elder Peterson and Elder Brewerton) used the Quetzalcoatl legend to "prove" the Book of Mormon's Christ when the Quetzalcoatl (or feathered serpent) legend dates to 1,000 years before the Book of Mormon's Christ? 6. When the Nephites landed in the Americas there were already millions of inhabitants in the land with large cities and infrastructure. Why are these people not mentioned? The Book of Mormon seems to indicate that the continent was empty at the time. 2 Nephi 1:8 One wonders if 'knowledge' of the land had been kept from the natives who had already been there for thousands of years? 7. Why didn't Nephi compare and contrast the New World with Jerusalem? These were two vastly different places. Book of Mormon Metallurgy 1. Why does the Book of Mormon mention Bellows (1 Nephi 17:11), Brass (2 Nephi 5:15), Breast Plates & Copper (Mosiah 8:10), Iron (Jarom 1:8), Gold and Silver currency (Alma 11), Silver (Jarom 1:8), and Steel Swords (Ether 7:9)? No evidence indicates that these items existed during Book of Mormon times. Tom Ferguson: "Metallurgy does not appear in the region until about the 9th century A.D." 2. Why doesn't the art (which is abundant) of the supposed Book of Mormon cultures portray the existence of metallurgical products or metallurgical activity? Book of Mormon Animals 1. Why does the Book of Mormon mention the following animals: Ass, Bull, Calf, Cattle, Cow, domestic Goat (the Nephites claimed to have found the domestic goat!), Horse (the horse plays a major role in the Nephite and Lamanite societies), Ox, domestic Sheep, Sow, Swine, & Elephants (contrary to the dated information on this site, non-LDS indicate that there is no evidence of elephants in the New World and the mammoth and mastodon of North America have been extinct for thousands years--see Stan Larson's "Quest for the Gold Plates" pages 184-188? None of these animals even existed in America during the era and timescale of Book of Mormon times. 2. Why aren't animals such as Coatimundis, Deer, Jaguars, Tapir, Monkeys, Sloths, Turkeys, etc.. mentioned when they were animals that existed? They were unknown to Joseph Smith, but later discovered to have lived here at the time the Nephites were supposed to have co-existed with them. Book of Mormon Crops 1. Why is plow agriculture such as Barley (Alma 11:7) and Wheat (Mosiah 9:9) included in the Book of Mormon when it didn't exist during that time period? "There's a whole system of production of wheat and barley . . . It's a specialized production of food. You have to know something to make flax [the source of linen], and especially in tropical climates. Grapes and olives . . . all these are cultures that are highly developed and amount to systems, and so the Book of Mormon is saying that these systems existed here." (BYU anthropology professor, Dr. Raymond T. Matheny, August 25, 1984 Sunstone conference in Salt Lake City). Welch claims barley existed in the Book of Mormon based on one find in Phoenix, Arizona! Arizona is hardly the setting of the Book of Mormon. 2. Why aren't the foods known to ancient America such as chocolate, lima beans, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, manioc, etc. included in the Book of Mormon? Book of Mormon Geography 1. Why isn't the terrain of Central America described? 2. Why is it that numerous LDS books and papers describe proposed Book of Mormon locations for cities and the "narrow neck of land"? No city has been identified as being Nephite, Lamanite, Jaredite, etc. For example, Zarahemla was occupied for hundreds of years, but we still don't have any real evidence of it ever existing. The Book of Mormon describes a time period from 2000 BC to 400 AD and millions of people. No city they occupied has yet to be found. 3. Why didn't any of the place names from the Book of Mormon still exist when Columbus arrived? 4. Where was the Hill Cumorah? Was it in New York or Central America? If it was in Central America, why hasn't it been found? If it was in New York, how did they move that quickly and where are all the remains? 5. Why don't gaps exist in the archeological record of Mesoamerica if these missing people existed? 6. Did the Book of Mormon take place outside of Mesoamerica? The History of the Church records an incident from June, 1834 in which JS identified a skeleton found in an Indian burial mound in Illinois: ". . . the visions of the past being opened to my understanding by the Spirit of the Almighty, I discovered the person whose skeleton was before us was a white Lamanite, a large, thick-set man, and a man of God. His name was Zelph . . . who was known from the Hill Cumorah, or eastern sea to the Rocky mountains." (HOC 1948 ed., II: 79-80). 7. Why don't any archeologists theorize any Hebrew or Egyptian linkages or influences in Mesoamerica? Book of Mormon Script 1. Why are Greek names such as Lachoneus, Timothy, Jonas, and Alpha & Omega in a book that should have absolutely no Greek influence? 2. Why aren't there other examples of "Reformed Egyptian" in Ancient America? 3. Why doesn't a linguistical relationship exist between any native American language and ancient Egyptian or Hebrew? 4. How did the Book of Mormon language evolve so rapidly into non-related Indian languages? Indo-European is much older than the Book of Mormon time period, yet vestiges of Indo-European exist through all of Europe and parts of Asia. 5. Why are only four main types of Mesoamerican writing systems known (and none in pre-Columbus North America): (Aztec, Mixtec, Zapotec, and Maya)? 6. Why can't the Anthon transcript (which contains copies of the supposed Reformed Egyptian characters) be identified with any forms of Egyptian? The only three Egyptologists that have looked at it say it does not contain any Egyptian (Ferguson Collection, BYU) 7. If the Book of Mormon took place outside of Mesoamerica (like in New York where the Hill Cumorah supposedly is), why are written languages of ancient America only found in Mesoamerica? 8. Why haven't any of the Book of Mormon proper names such as Nephi, Laman, Zarahemla, etc. been found in all of the many writings that have been found in Mesoamerica? Book of Mormon Races 1. If the Book of Mormon is true, why do Indians fail to turn white when they become Mormons? (2 Nephi 30:6, prior to the 1981 revision). 2. Why aren't any of the Indian tribes racially or genetically the same as Hebrews? American Indians are all of Mongoloid origin. 3. Why did Joseph Smith send missionaries to the "Lamanites" if the American Indians at the time weren't really "Lamanites"? (D&C 10:48, 28:8, 54:8, etc.) He certainly considered the Indians to be Lamanites (even if the current leaders of the church no longer believe them to be so). ' The Book of Mormon is a record of the forefathers of our western tribes of Indians. By it we learn that our western tribes of Indians are descendants from that Joseph who was sold into Egypt, and that the land of America is a promised land unto them.' (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 17). 'He told me of a sacred record which was written on plates of gold, I saw in the vision the place where they were deposited, he said the Indians were the literal descendants of Abraham.' (Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, Diary 1835-1836, pg. 76). (Note - this was one of Smith's 'founding visions'. Apparently, Moroni was not aware that there were other, non-Semitic natives in America either). Book of Mormon Witnesses 1. Why were the witnesses only allowed to see the plates with "spiritual eyes"? 2. If the plates were real, why would it take faith to see them? (D&C17:2) (How could he have translated without the plates, as his scribes said, if he was doing a literal translation of a physical object?) 3. Why does the church now extol the witnesses when Joseph Smith condemned them? 4. Why would most of them leave the church? 5. Why did Brigham Young say that the 3 witnesses doubted and disbelieved in their experience? "Some of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon, who handled the plates and conversed with the angels of God, were afterwards left to doubt and disbelieve that they had ever seen an angel." (JOD 7:164 1859). 6. Why were all of the witnesses (except Martin Harris) related to Joseph Smith or David Whitmer? Book of Mormon Style and Inconsistencies 1. If God was inspiring the translation process of the Book of Mormon, why were 4,000 changes necessary? 2. Why do the stories and the characters in the Book of Mormon repeat with only minor variations in content and different names given to the characters? Example: Nephi and Moroni sound and act like the same character. "There were other Anti-Christs among the Nephites, but they were more military leaders than religious innovators . . . they are all of one breed and brand; so nearly alike that one mind is the author of them, and that a young and undeveloped, but piously inclined mind. The evidence I sorrowfully submit, points to Joseph Smith as their creator. It is difficult to believe that they are the product of history, that they come upon the scene separated by long periods of time, and among a race which was the ancestral race of the red man of America." (B. H. Roberts - Studies of the Book of Mormon, page 271). 3. Why was the Book of Mormon cast into the KJV style? "...there is a continual use of the 'thee', 'thou' and 'ye', as well as the archaic verb endings 'est' (second person singular) and 'eth' (third person singular). Since the Elizabethan style was not Joseph's natural idiom, he continually slipped out of this King James pattern and repeatedly confused the norms as well. Thus he lapsed from 'ye' (subject) to 'you' (object) as the subject of sentences (e.g. 'Mos. 2:19; 3:34; 4:24), jumped from plural ('ye') to singular ('thou') in the same sentence (Mos. 4:22) and moved from verbs without endings to ones with endings (e.g. 'yields . . . putteth,' 3:19)." (The Use of the Old Testament in the Book of Mormon, by Wesley P. Walters, 1990, page 30). 4. Was there a room full of plates in a secret chamber in the hill near Joseph's house as he and Brigham Young said? 5. Why were cliched Indian phrases like "Nine Moons" in (Omni 1:21) or "Great Spirit" in (Alma 19:25-27) included? 6. How did the Jaredites come up with the same rare idea of writing on plates 2,000 years before Lehi when such a record keeping system is virtually unknown? 7. Why include the ridiculous prayer of the Zoramites in Alma 31? 8. Why is the Passover mentioned 71 times in the Bible, but -0- times in the Book of Mormon? 9. How did Book of Mormon characters get the priesthood when they weren't from the tribe of Levi? 10. Why was Shakespeare used? 11. What was the purpose in Moroni taking the plates back? Similarly, what ever happened to the parchment written by John of the New Testament? (D&C 7) Why weren't the supposed writings of Abraham (which were actually common A.D. funerary texts) also taken similarly back? 12. Why did Joseph's own accounts confuse whether he was visited by Moroni or Nephi. "He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Nephi." (J. Smith - Times & Seasons Vol. 3, p. 753 1842) also (J. Smith 1851 PoGP p. 41). Prophecies in the Book of Mormon 1. Why are the prophecies in the Book of Mormon dealing with events that already occurred unrealistically specific? o Three Witnesses. o Charles Anthon story. o Columbus described. o Joseph Smith's name given. o Smith called to be the translator of the Mormon record. o Jerusalem destroyed. o 600 years until Jesus is born. o Martin Harris and the lost manuscripts. (1 Nephi 9, Words of Mormon) o Why do the unfulfilled prophecies in the Book of Mormon remain unfulfilled? Example: Jews becoming Christian in mass. 1. Why is the Book of Mormon quite specific about Christ but does not add anything that the New Testament does not address (for example, what Christ did from age 12 - 30)? 2. Why does the Book of Mormon prophesy that the Jews would be restored to the land of their inheritance if they believed in Christ (they are occupying it now w/o believing in Christ)? (2 Nephi 10:7) 3. Why did Alma not know when Christ was coming (Alma 13:21-26) even though he possessed plates and Lehi and Nephi had written precisely when he would arrive? Influenced by Joseph Smith's background 1. Why are themes of the revolutionary war and patriotism (liberty, freedom, country, religion, flags, etc.) woven throughout a book supposedly written over a thousand years before the revolutionary war? 2. Why is an agrarian society similar to the society Joseph was most familiar with described as the setting for the entire book? 3. Why is a democracy after a monarchy described? (Mosiah 23, 29) - As happened in the history of the U.S. 4. Is it purely coincidental that there was much speculation in Joseph Smith's area about Indian Mounds and battles? 5. Why does the Book of Mormon describe wood forts with pickets to protect people--much like the forts of frontier? 6. Is it purely coincidental that Lehi had six sons as did Joseph Smith Sr., Sam/Samuel were sons of both, and Nephi and Joseph Smith Jr. were so similar? 7. Why did Mormon, Nephi and other "heroes" of the Book of Mormon have so many common traits with Joseph Smith? (large in stature, had visions while a teenager, etc. -- see "The Refiner's Fire" by John Brooke for many more similarities) 8. Why does the Book of Mormon repeatedly addresses 19th century readers? 9. Why is the anti-Masonic excitement that arose near Smith's home in 1827 reflected? (Gadianton Robbers / Secret Combos) 10. Why is infant baptism (a much discussed issue in the early 19th century) condemned in Chapter 8 of Moroni when it wasn't even an issue in the Bible? Influenced by the KJV of the Bible 1. Why does the B of M use old KJV type English at a time when it was not currently used. 2. Why is about 1/8th of the B of M copied directly from the KJV (1611AD) when it was alleged to have been written some 1200-2000 years before the KJV existed? 3. How do you explain the fact that Joseph Smith copied from the KJV but deleted the italicized words in the KJV because he figured they were not in the original? "Then said I, Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips" Isa 6:5, The words "is & am" are deleted in the Book of Mormon. 4. Why are portions of Isaiah quoted off of the plates of brass when these items weren't written until after Nephi supposedly got the plates out of Laban's treasury? 5. Why was Paul referred to before his time? (Paul said, "Death where is thy sting") 6. Why is it that of the 350 names in the Book of Mormon, 100 are found in the Bible, others are place names found on early 19th century maps, and the rest are derivatives of Bible names? 7. Why didn't Joseph Smith ever acknowledge using the KJV of the Bible to "translate"? 8. Why were the following phrases used out of the New Testament supposedly before the New Testament was even thought of--much less written? o 1. "oh wretched man that I am" Romans 7:24 / 2 Nephi 4:17 o 2. "earthquake, rocks rent" Matt 27:51 / 1 Nephi 12:14 o 3. "old serpent, which is the devil" Rev 20:2 / 2 Nephi 2:18 o 4. "one faith, one baptism" Ephesians 4:5 / Mosiah 18:21 o 5. "One man perish" Jesus/Laban / John 11:50 / 1 Nephi 4:13 1. Why is a Greek word like "Christ" used throughout the Book of Mormon? 2. Why does the Book of Mormon always follow KJV errors? 3. Why don't the Book of Mormon quotes from out of the Old Testament agree to earlier Latin, Syriac, Coptic, or Patristic texts? 4. Example: Matthew 5:27 and 3 Nephi 12:27 "by them of old time" not included in earliest Greek (should have said "to them of old") 5. Matthew 6:4, 6, 18 and 3 Nephi :4, 6, 18 "openly" added later 6. Matt 6:13 and 3 Nephi 13:13 "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" should have said, "and do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one". 7. Why does the phrase "the lamb of God" appear only in the New Testament portion of the Bible yet it appears in the Book of Mormon over 30 times--28 times in 1 Nephi alone? 8. Why do the words of Malachi 4:1 appear in 1 Nephi 22:15 over a hundred years before Malachi wrote them? 9. Why do so many stories seem like exaggerated borrowings from the Bible? Examples: o Ammon killed six sheep rustlers with a sling (Alma 17:36) vs. David's killing of Goliath. (1 Samuel 17:50) o Pillar of Fire. (Exodus 13:21) vs. (1 Nephi 1:6) o Lord instructs Noah to build the Ark (Genesis 6:14) / Lord instructs Nephi to build ship (1 Nephi 17:8) / Lord instructs Jaredites to build barges (Ether 2:16) o Jaredites brought flocks, two of a kind, seeds. (Ether 2:1) vs. Noah doing the same in (Genesis 7:9) o Raising dead. (Matthew 10:8) vs. (3 Nephi 19:4) o Temple of Solomon supposedly took 180,000 people seven and a half years to build (1 Kings 5, 6) / The few in number Nephites supposedly did it in less than 20 years after arriving (2 Nephi 5). o Calming Storm (1 Nephi 18:8-21) vs. (Matthew 8:23-27). o Men in Fire (Helaman 5:22-24) vs. (Daniel 3). o Feeding Multitude (3 Nephi 20:3-7) out of nothing / In Bible, Christ multiplied existing food (Matthew 14). o Christ heals masses in Book of Mormon (3 Nephi 17:9) / in Bible Jesus healed as he encountered (Luke 9:42). o Multitude feels wounds in Book of Mormon (3 Nephi 11:13) / In Bible, Thomas felt wounds (John 20:27). o Book of Mormon prophecies of Christ specific / Bible prophecies veiled (actually non-existent unless scripture misquoted or "prophecies" stretched to have two meanings). o Book of Mormon Christ is completely accepted / In Bible he is rejected. o Aminadi deciphered writing on the wall (Alma 10:2-3) like Daniel (Daniel 5). o Daughter of Jared danced before the king (Ether 8) like the daughter of Herodias (Matthew 14) (decapitation followed in both cases). o Daughters of Lamanites abducted like the daughters of Shiloh. o Jews of Old Testament were monotheists / Pre-Christ Jews of Book of Mormon were not. Influenced by happenings of early 19th century America 1. Why does the Book of Mormon confuse the Old and New Covenants? It stresses that before Christ, the faithful kept the Law of Moses (2 Nephi 5:10; 25:23-25, 20; Alma 30:3), yet they also established churches, taught and practiced Christian baptism, and were conversant with New Testament doctrines and events (e.g. 2 Nephi 9:23; Mosiah 18:17). In the Bible, the Old Covenant is taken away to establish the New according to Paul and his followers (Heb. 10:9). The Book of Mormon intermingles the covenants. Paul was the man who first tried to reconcile the Old to the New convenant--not anyone during Old Testament times. 2. Why does the Book of Mormon discuss the concept of infinite sins paid by an infinite being? (Alma 12) This idea was originated by Anselm of Canterbury and was a raging debate during the time of Joseph Smith. 3. Why does the Book of Mormon's teachings reflect the religious conflicts of the early 19th century including: grace, infant baptism, ordination, authority, repentance, resurrection, eternal punishment, fall of man, nature of man, fasting, etc.? 4. Why were there missionaries in the Book of Mormon before Christ? That certainly wasn't the case in the Old World. 5. Why is King Benjamin's oratory like a 19th century camp meeting? 6. Revival gathering (Mosiah 2) 7. Guilt ridden falling exercise (4:1-2) 8. Petition for spiritual emancipation (4:2) 9. Absolution and ecstasy (4:3) 10. Repentance (4:4-8) 11. Born again (5:7) 12. Take name of Christ (5:8-15) 13. Why do other works early in Joseph Smith's lifetime teach that the Indians were descended from the Hebrews? 14. Was "View of the Hebrews" one of the sources? B. H. Roberts (Studies of Book of Mormon pp.240,242) said, "But now to return . . . to the main theme of this writing -- viz., did Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews furnish structural material for Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon? It has been pointed out in these pages that there are many things in the former book that might well have suggested many major things in the other. Not a few things merely, one or two, or a half dozen, but many; and it is this fact of many things of similarity and the cumulative force of them that makes them so serious a menace to Joseph Smith's story of the Book of Mormon's origin . . ." 15. Was Josiah Priest's book "The Wonders of Nature and Providence", copyrighted by him June 2nd, 1824, and printed soon afterwards in Rochester, New York, only some twenty miles distant from Palmyra a source? 16. Was James Adair's "A History of the American Indians" a source? On pages 377-378, he wrote the following about the Indians: "Through the whole continent, and in the remotest woods, are traces of their ancient warlike disposition. We frequently met with great mounds of earth, either of a circular, or oblong form, having a strong breast-work at a distance around them, made of the clay which had been dug up in forming the ditch on the inner side of the inclosed ground, and these were their forts of security against an enemy... About 12 miles from the upper northern parts of the Choktah country, there stand...two oblong mounds of earth...in an equal direction with each other... A broad deep ditch inclosed those two fortress, and there they raised an high breast-work, to secure their houses from the invading enemy." In Alma it states, "Yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort: throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies...the Nephites were taught...never to raise the sword except it were against an enemy... they had cast up dirtround to shield them from the arrows...the chief captains of the Lamanites were astonished exceedingly, because of the wisdom of the Nephites in preparing their places of security...they knew not that Moroni had fortified, or had built forts of security in all the land roundabout ...the Lamanites could not get into their forts of security...because of the highness of the bank which had been thrown up, and the depth of the ditch which had been dug round about...they (the Lamanites) began to dig down their banks of earth...that they might have an equalchance to fight...instead of filling up their ditches by pulling down banks of earth, they were filled up in a measure with their dead...And (Moroni) caused them to erect fortifications that they should commence laboring in digging a ditch round about the land...And he caused that they should build a breastwork of timbers upon the inner bank of the ditch: and they did cast up dirt out of the ditch against the breastwork of timbers". 17. Why are there other direct word parallels between Adair and the Book of Mormon such as Omni 1:21 and page 125 of Adair which says, "...for the space of four moons..." or page 122 which says "for the space of three days and nights..." and Alma 36:10. Main themes of Mormonism not in Book of Mormon: 1. Why isn't the Elohim (God) being the father of Jehovah (Jesus) and being once a mortal man discussed? (In fact, God and Jesus appear to be one in the same being in the Book of Mormon--especially in the first edition). 2. What about God having a body of flesh and bones, God being married, men becoming Gods, temple participation necessary for exaltation, baptism for the dead, Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood, word of wisdom, and 3 degrees of glory? 3. Why is polygamy condemned in the Book of Mormon, but condoned in the D&C and still believed to be necessary in church doctrine for exaltation in the after-life? 4. Where are such doctrines as a man having to marry in order to be exalted, member having to wear sacred undergarments, official doctrine being voted upon by the general membership, God being the offspring of another God, etc.? Treasure Hunting and Magic 1. Why was Joseph Smith arrested for "money digging" and convicted of being a disorderly person? He admitted to being a money digger, though he said it was never very profitable for him (History of the Church, V. 3, p. 29). He and his father's money digging continued until at least 1826. On March 20th, 1826, Joseph was arrested, brought before a judge, and charged with being a "glass-looker" and a disorderly person. The laws at that time had what was known as the "Vagrant Act." It defined a disorderly person as one who pretended to have skill in the areas of palmistry, telling fortunes or discovering where lost goods might be found. According to court records Justice Neely determined that Joseph was guilty, though no penalty was administered, quite possibly because this was a first offense (Inventing Mormonism, Marquardt and Walters, SLC: Signature Books, 1994, pp.74-75). 2. Why did Joseph Smith have to use a seer stone both before and after being called as a prophet? 3. Why did the Book of Mormon have to be translated while he looked into the seer stone placed in a black top hat? D. Michael Quinn writes: "During this period from 1827 to 1830, Joseph Smith abandoned the company of his former money-digging associates, but continued to use for religious purposes the brown seer stone he had previously employed in the treasure quest. His most intensive and productive use of the seer stone was in the translation of the Book of Mormon. But he also dictated several revelations to his associates through the stone" (Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, D. Michael Quinn, Signature Books, SLC, 1987, p. 143). Richard S. Van Wagoner writes: "This stone, still retained by the First Presidency of the LDS Church, was the vehicle through which the golden plates were discovered and the medium through which their interpretation came" (Sidney Rigdon: A Portrait of Religious Excess, Signature Books, SLC, 1994, p.57). 4. Why would a prophet need to send members to seek for treasure seen in a vision? See D&C 111. Why wasn't any found when the revelation states they would? 5. Did the Jaredites magic stones have anything to do with Joseph's acquaintance with magic stones? 6. Why does the Book of Mormon discuss "slippery treasure" so much? First Vision 1. Why do the accounts differ with respect to who was in the vision? See "The New Mormon History : Revisionist Essays on the Past " for more on this. 2. Why doesn't Jesus show up (separate from God) until after the God doctrine had evolved into a plurality of Gods? (i.e., after 1835) 3. Why don't the early "prophets" even know the story accurately? "The Lord did not come with the armies of heaven...But he did send His angel to this same obscure person, Joseph Smith jun...and informed him that he should not join any of the religious sects of the day, for they were all wrong" (B. Young - JOD Volume 2 p.171 1855). 4. "How did it (the organization) come? By the ministering of an holy angel from God, out of heaven, who held converse with man, and revealed unto him the darkness that enveloped the world...He told him the Gospel was not among men, and that there was not a true organization of His kingdom in the world." (Wilford Woodruff - JOD Volume 11 p.196 1855). 5. "How did the state of things called Mormonism originate? We read that an angel came down and revealed himself to Joseph Smith and manifested unto him in a vision the true position of the world in a religious point of view. He was surrounded with light and glory while the heavenly messenger communicated these things to him." (John Taylor - JOD Volume 10 p.127 1863). 6. "When the holy angel appeared, Joseph inquired which of all these denominations was right and which he should join, and was told they were all wrong." (George A. Smith - JOD Volume 12 p.334 1863). 7. Why doesn't any published source mention the "official" first vision account until 1842--22 years after the "official" event supposedly happened? 8. Why doesn't the 1st vision play an important role in Mormon history until the 1860s? No one seems to mention it before then even though it is now deemed by Mormons to be the most important event in almost 2,000 years. 9. Why isn't there evidence to support the revival described by Joseph Smith in early 1820--yet there is evidence to support revivals several years later? Joseph Smith's neighborhood experienced no revival in 1820 such as he described, in which great multitudes joined the Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches. According to early sources, including church conference reports, newspapers, church periodicals, presbytery records and published interviews, nothing occurred in 1820-21 that fits Joseph's description. There were no significant gains in church membership in the Palmyra-Manchester, New York area, during 1820-21 such as accompany great revivals. For example, in 1820, the Baptist Church in Palmyra only received 8 people through profession of faith and baptism, the Presbyterian church added 14 members, while the Methodist circuit lost 6 members, dropping from 677 in 1819 to 671 in 1820 and down to 622 in 1821 (see Geneva area Presbyterian Church Records, Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, PA; Records for the First Baptist Church in Palmyra, American Baptist Historical Society, Rochester, NY; Minutes of the [Methodist] annual Conference, Ontario Circuit, 1818-1821, pp. 312, 330, 346, 366). 10. Why does Lucy Smith (his mother) indicate that the revival occurred around 1824? Her son, Alvin died on November 19, 1823, and following that painful loss Lucy Smith reports that, "about this time there was a great revival in religion and the whole neighborhood was very much aroused to the subject and we among the rest, flocked to the meeting house to see if there was a word of comfort for us that might relieve our over-charged feelings" (First draft of Lucy Smith's History, p. 55, LDS Church Archives). Church records from that time period show outstanding increases in membership due to the reception of new converts. The Baptist Church received 94, the Presbyterian 99, while the Methodist work grew by 208. "You will recollect that I mentioned the time of a religious excitement, in Palmyra and vicinity to have been in the 15th year of our Brother J. Smith Jr's, age that was an error in the type- it should have been the 17th...This would bring the date down to the year 1823." (Oliver Cowdrey - Times & Seasons Vol. 2, p. 241 1840). For further details see, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Spring 1969, pp. 59-100. 11. Why does his first autobiography not even mention the "first vision"? 12. Why does Joseph Smith have Lehi make such a statement as 1 Nephi 8:2? Is he equating a dream to an actual, physical vision or visitation from God?

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