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Book of Mormon
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Contents
- 1 Articles related to the Book of Mormon
- 2 Book of Mormon
- 2.1 Language used in the Book of Mormon
- 2.2 As a "familiar spirit"
- 2.3 Revisions to the Book of Mormon
- 2.4 Book of Mormon textual changes
- 2.4.1 Completeness of the Book of Mormon
- 2.4.2 As the most correct book
- 2.4.3 Contains the fulness of the gospel
- 2.4.4 Archaeology and the Book of Mormon
- 2.4.5 Archaeology
- 2.4.6 Anachronisms claimed to exist in the Book of Mormon
- 2.4.7 Anachronisms
- 2.4.8 Deutero-Isaiah in the Book of Mormon?
- 2.4.9 Dead Sea Scrolls and their relationship to the Book of Mormon
- 2.4.10 Demographics and population numbers
- 2.4.11 Doctrinal issues related to the Book of Mormon
- 2.4.12 Plain and precious doctrines
- 2.4.13 Great and abominable church
- 2.4.14 Nephi's killing of Laban
- 2.4.15 Book of Mormon Geography
- 2.4.16 Geography
- 2.4.17 Location of the Hill Cumorah
- 2.4.18 Historicity of the Book of Mormon
- 2.4.19 Calendar
- 2.4.20 Historicity
- 2.4.21 Warfare in the Book of Mormon
- 2.4.22 Evidences
- 2.4.23 Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon
- 2.4.24 Lamanites and the Book of Mormon
- 2.4.25 DNA evidence
- 2.4.26 Lamanites
- 2.4.27 Book of Mormon textual analysis
- 2.4.28 Wordprint studies
- 2.4.29 Truthfulness of the Book of Mormon
- 2.4.30 Moroni's promise
- 2.4.31 Stick of Ephraim—Erastus Snow statement
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Topics
Book of Mormon overview
Book of Mormon basics
Summary: What is the Book of Mormon? This article orients new readers to the nature and content of this volume of scripture.List of editions
Translation of the Book of Mormon
Translation
Summary: What do we know about the method used to translate the Book of Mormon? Were the plates sometimes not in the room while Joseph was translating them? It is claimed that each sentence and word in the 1830 Book of Mormon "had supposedly come directly from God."Witnesses
Summary: The world was not left with Joseph Smith's testimony alone. The Book of Mormon provided multiple official and unofficial witnesses who corroborated aspects of Joseph's account.Critics have long tried to dismiss or destroy the witnesses' witness. This page links to subpages which discuss various attacks in detail.Urim and Thummim and seer stones
Summary: Joseph Smith used the Nephite Interpreters as well as his own seer stone (both of which were later referred to as "Urim and Thummim") to translate the Book of Mormon.Publication of the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
Language used in the Book of Mormon
As a "familiar spirit"
Summary: Critics ask why, if the words "familiar spirit" in Is. 29:4 refer to the Book of Mormon (as used in 2_Ne. 26:16, why does "familiar spirit" always refer to occult practices such as channeling and necromancy everywhere else in the Old Testament?Revisions to the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon textual changes
Jump to details:
- Book of Mormon/Textual changes/Why were these changes made
- Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"the Son of"
- Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"white" changed to "pure"
- Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"Benjamin" changed to "Mosiah"
- Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"Words missing in Alma 32:30"
Completeness of the Book of Mormon
As the most correct book
Summary: It is claimed that since Joseph stated that it was "the most correct book," that the Book of Mormon should not have contained any errors. Yet, Mormon himself states in the preface that any mistakes contained therein are the mistakes of men.Contains the fulness of the gospel
Summary: If the Book of Mormon contains the "fulness of the gospel," then why are certain ordinances such as baptism for the dead and eternal marriage not mentioned?- Baptism for the dead—why is it not taught in the Book of Mormon?—
Brief Summary: If the Book of Mormon contains the "fulness of the Gospel," then why does it not mention baptism for the dead. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Book of Mormon condemns polygamy—
Brief Summary: Critics use the Book of Jacob to show that the Book of Mormon condemns the practice of polygamy, and then go on to claim that Joseph Smith ignored this restriction by introducing the doctrine of plural marriage. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Baptism for the dead—why is it not taught in the Book of Mormon?—
Archaeology and the Book of Mormon
Archaeology
Summary: Critics charge that what is known about ancient American archaeology is not consistent with the Book of Mormon account. Sectarian critics often add the claim that the Bible has been "proven" true by archaeology, unlike the Book of Mormon.Anachronisms claimed to exist in the Book of Mormon
Anachronisms
Summary: Critics point to some items or concepts in the Book of Mormon which they claim are not consistent with what is known about ancient American geography, history, or anthropology. They claim that these "errors" prove that Joseph Smith was producing the Book of Mormon in the 19th century, and that the Book of Mormon is therefore not an ancient record.Deutero-Isaiah in the Book of Mormon?
Summary: The "Deutero-Isaiah" theory is the claim that parts of Isaiah were written later than others. This theory claims that there were three individual authors, whose works were later compiled together under the name of the first author Isaiah (referred to as "Proto Isaiah"). The critical issue raised is that the Brass Plates of Laban quote from sections of Isaiah that this theory ascribes to Deutero-Isaiah, so how could the Nephites have these writings if they weren't written until after they left Jerusalem?Dead Sea Scrolls and their relationship to the Book of Mormon
Summary: Mistranslations of the King James version of Isaiah have been corrected using the Isaiah version found with the Dead Sea scrolls. Why is it that the quotes from Isaiah contained in the Book of Mormon have the same translation errors contained in the King James version instead of matching the original ancient text?Demographics and population numbers
Summary: Do Book of Mormon population numbers grow too rapidly?Plain and precious doctrines
Summary: It is claimed that the Book of Mormon is nothing more than a "bad copy of the Bible"; that anyone could have churned out such pedestrian, warmed-over ideas by borrowing liberally from the Bible and his own personal experiences.Great and abominable church
Summary: What is the "great and abominable church" referred to in the Book of Mormon? It is claimed that Latter-day Saints believe that the scriptural terms "church of the devil," the "great and abominable church," and the "whore of all the earth" refer to a specific religion. It is claimed that the Book of Mormon teaches that "all mainstream Christians fall into the world system know as the devil's church (or Satan's kingdom)."Nephi's killing of Laban
Summary: How can Latter-day Saints point to Nephi's killing of Laban as an example of a positive example of a Book of Mormon character? Wasn't this cold-blooded murder? And doesn't this passage then justify the killing of "the wicked" by anyone who feels that God has told them to do so?Book of Mormon Geography
Geography
Summary: The geographical setting of the Book of Mormon has been the subject of serious study and casual speculation since before the book was first published. We describe the various theories and examine the strengths and weaknesses of each.Location of the Hill Cumorah
Summary: If Mormon chapter 6 is a literal description of the destruction of the Nephites by the Lamanites — approximately 100 thousand were killed by swords and axes — why hasn't any evidence of the battle been found at the site that was traditionally identified as the hill Cumorah in western New York state?Historicity of the Book of Mormon
Calendar
Summary: The Book of Mormon calendar is not identical to the calendar used by modern peoples. Learn about Nephite calendar(s) here.- Was the idea of a "week" unknown in the Americas?—
Brief Summary: Despite claims to the contrary, there is evidence for a seven-day week among the early Maya, though the Book of Mormon does not require such a correlation. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Was the idea of a "week" unknown in the Americas?—
Historicity
Summary: Several efforts have been made to "prove" that what the Book of Mormon has to say about the history of the new world cannot possibly have been the case.Warfare in the Book of Mormon
Summary: Some criticisms of Book of Mormon warfare are anachronistic; other elements of Book of Mormon warfare contain authentic ancient elements about which Joseph Smith could not have known.Evidences
Summary: Summary page for evidences supporting the Book of Mormon- Olive culture—
Brief Summary: Does the Book of Mormon's account of olive culture in Jacob 5 match what we know about this subject? The Book of Mormon provides a remarkably accurate portrait of olive horticulture. There are two points at which the allegory/parable deviates from the known principles of growing olives; in both cases, the allegory's characters draw the reader's attention to these deviations with some amazement. Thus, these 'mistakes' play a dramatic role in demonstrating the allegory/parable's meaning. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Book of Mormon geography in the Old World—
Brief Summary: A discussion of the Arabian, or Old World, geography of the Book of Mormon enjoys many advantages over discussion of New World matters. Chief among these is the fact that we know we certainty where the story begins—in Old World Jerusalem. The details of Lehi's desert travels had been extracted from the text by the 1970s. It is important to note how early these models were developed; current-day critics sometimes charge that LDS scholars have "retrofitted" their models to accommodate chance discoveries like "Nahom," but this is false. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Olive culture—
Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon
Summary: The Book of Mormon does indeed have authentic Semitic constructions in it, but LDS need to tread cautiously in establishing them. Each must be evaluated on its own merits. Hebraisms that could have been known to Joseph Smith may still be authentic, and may still enhance our appreciation of the text, but they are weak evidence for Book of Mormon antiquity.- If-and conditionals—
Brief Summary: The first edition of the Book of Mormon contained several examples of a grammatical structure not known in English, but common in Hebrew: the so-called if/and conditional. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Names: authentic Old World names in the Book of Mormon (Click here for full article)
∗ ∗ ∗ - Chiasmus—
Brief Summary: A literary structure known as "chiasmus" exists in the Book of Mormon. It is claimed that the presence of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon is either coincidental, an artifact of the observer, or not impressive since examples of chiastic patterns have been found in the Doctrine and Covenants or other 19th century writing. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Sami Hanna on the Book of Mormon—
Brief Summary: I have read a talk written by Elder Russell M. Nelson in which he discusses a friend of his who translated the Book of Mormon back into Arabic. What are the facts behind this story and the talk? (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- If-and conditionals—
Lamanites and the Book of Mormon
DNA evidence
Summary: DNA samples taken from modern Native Americans do not match the DNA of modern inhabitants of the Middle East. Critics argue that this means the Book of Mormon's claim that Native Americans are descended from Lehi must be false, and therefore the Book of Mormon is not an ancient record as Joseph Smith claimed.Lamanites
- Curse—
Brief Summary: It is claimed that the Church believed that Lamanites who accepted the Gospel would become light-skinned. "Mormon folklore" claims that Native Americans and Polynesians carry a curse based upon "misdeeds on the part of their ancestors." (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Red skin curse—
Brief Summary: One critic states that the Lamanites were "cursed" with a "red skin." (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Red skin curse—
- Referenced in the Doctrine and Covenants—
Brief Summary: Since in the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord refers to American Indians in North America as "Lamanites" (e.g., DC 28:8-9,14, DC 30:6, DC 32:2, DC 54:8), does this cause problems for the Limited Geography Theory (LGT) or issues of Amerindian genetic data? (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Relationship to Amerindians—
Brief Summary: Are all Amerindians descendants of Lehi? It is claimed that Church leaders "seem reluctant or powerless to curtail" the belief among Mesoamerican and South American saints that they are descendents of the Lamanites. Critics say that Joseph Smith said that the angel Moroni told him that all American Indians were "literal descendants of Abraham," but that DNA has disproved this. (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Statements—
Brief Summary: A collection of various statements from Church leaders about Amerindian origins/identity (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Statements—
- Relationship to Polynesians—
Brief Summary: It is claimed that the Church has expanded the definition of "Lamanite" to Polynesians. Modern day prophets have repeatedly declared that Polynesians are Lamanites. The patriarchal blessings of Polynesians often state that they are of the tribe of Manasseh (through Lehi). (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗ - Statements—
Brief Summary: A collection of various statements from Church leaders about Polynesian origins/identity (Click here for full article)∗ ∗ ∗
- Statements—
- Curse—