Category: Book of Mormon
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Do the Amarna Letters support Alma 7:10?
Alma 7:10 talks about how the Savior would be born “at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers.” Obviously, Jesus was not born “at Jerusalem” but rather in Bethlehem. LDS apologists use the Amarna Letters to back the error found in the Book of Mormon. Is this a good argument?
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Questions To Ask When Reading the Book of Mormon
Ask these questions as you read the Book of Mormon with discerning eyes. Examine its origins, influences, revisions, Joseph Smith’s world, and how each chapter compares or contrasts with modern Mormonism.
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3 Absolute Imperatives
NOTE: This article was published in the March/April 2025 Mormonism Researched newsletter, a free publication. To subscribe, please visit the registration site. Over the years, Latter-day Saint leaders have been very bold when it comes to some non-negotiable imperatives regarding the truthfulness of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The argument goes, and I…
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Divided by a Blanket or “Thick Curtain”
Note: The following was originally printed in the April 2024 edition of MRM Update, a special edition given to supporters of Mormonism Research Ministry. In our Book of Mormon display at the Utah Christian Research Center is a table with a 19th century-style hat on top. In the hat is a rock that looks very similar…
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The Book of Mormon and New World Geography
Note: The following was originally printed in the March/April 2024 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. It was back in 1969 when an LDS archaeologist named Dee. F. Green responded to what he called a “myth” regarding Book of Mormon archaeology. Writing for the periodical Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought,…
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The LDS Church’s Groundless Celebration of Moroni’s Visitation
Church News, a weekly publication by and about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, recently noted, “The gospel Restoration [Mormonism] started on Sept. 21, 1823, when a heavenly messenger appeared to Joseph Smith and said: ‘My name is Moroni. Let’s get to work’” (as paraphrased by LDS church historian Kyle McKay in Church News,…
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Joseph Smith: Of Walls and Elevation
By Bill McKeever Note: The following was originally printed in the November/December 2021 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. “Did you know that Joseph Smith was shocked to learn that Jerusalem had walls around it while translating the Book of Mormon?” Such is the opening line of a video produced by…
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The 1830 Book of Mormon: Joseph Smith’s Rough Draft
6 June 2021 Last month (on 25 May 2021) LDS Living reprinted an essay from the book, “Know Brother Joseph,” by Angela Hallstrom. In this essay, the LDS author explains that the very existence of the Book of Mormon is a “vital” and “foundational” aspect of her testimony of the validity of The Church of…
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The Book of Mormon and Three Degrees of Glory
By Bill McKeever Note: The following was originally printed in the September/October 2020 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. A criticism that I share with many Christians is the lack of unique Mormon doctrine in the Book of Mormon. If Nephites really existed, why is it we do not see them believing…
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Consider David Whitmer’s Testimony
The February issue of Liahona magazine (published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) includes a supplement to the church’s religious study curriculum, “Come, Follow Me.” The magazine article looks briefly at two Book of Mormon witnesses, David Whitmer and Martin Harris–both of whom, along with Oliver Cowdery (a third Book of Mormon…
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Book of Mormon Translation: Though Questions Persist, One Thing is Clear
How was the Book of Mormon translated from the Reformed Egyptian found on the gold plates into English? Despite available eyewitness accounts and an official position stated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints itself, Mormons don’t seem to know the answer. The process Joseph Smith used to produce the Book of Mormon…
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Book Review: Jesus’ Resurrection and Joseph’s Vision: Examining the Foundations of Christianity and Mormonism
Authored by Robert M. Bowman Reviewed by Eric Johnson Listen to a 5-part Viewpoint on Mormonism podcast as Bill and Eric interview the author from July 27-31, 2020: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 A disclaimer should be included on the first page of a 2020 book written by Dr. Robert Bowman,…
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The Book of Mormon Is Not Fully Understood by LDS Leaders
On January 18, 2020, Peggy Fletcher Stack and the Salt Lake Tribune published an article titled, “Error in printed LDS Church manual could revive racial criticisms.” It seems that the print edition of the LDS church’s 2020 Sunday school manual, Come Follow Me, includes an outdated teaching on a racist passage found in the Book…
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Citations on Plates of Gold (Book of Mormon)
The following are sections out of Bill McKeever’s book In their Own Words: A Collection of Mormon Quotations. Standard Works “And for a testimony that the things that they had said are true they have brought twenty-four plates which are filled with engravings, and they are of pure gold” (The Book of Mormon, Mosiah 8:9).…
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Citations on the Book of Mormon
The following are sections out of Bill McKeever’s book In their Own Words: A Collection of Mormon Quotations. Standard Works “BY JOSEPH SMITH, JUNIOR – AUTHOR AND PROPRIETOR” (Title Page, The Book of Mormon, 1830 ed.). “Wherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites—Written to…
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10 Teachings of Mormonism Not Supported by the Book of Mormon
En Espanol According to Joseph Smith in the History of the Church 4:461: I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.…
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Joseph Smith and the Seer Stone: The Art of the Book of Mormon Translation Process
This article was revised on 9/25/24 Art can be very powerful. It tells a story. For instance, what is your idea when you see this photograph from June 1989 regarding the issue of China and democracy? This image had a powerful effect on many who knew little about the details of the June 1989 student…
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Stela 5 and Lehi’s Vision of the Tree of Life
By Bill McKeever Note: The following was originally printed in the May/June 2017 edition of Mormonism Researched. To request a free subscription, please visit here. Genesis 2: 9 explains how God planted a garden east of Eden and in it were two trees, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Perhaps not…
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Life without the Book of Mormon?
20 November 2017 LDS apostle Russell M. Nelson spoke at the Mormon Church’s October 2017 General Conference and asked, “The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like without It?” After his conference address, Mr. Nelson asked the same question of Mormons on Twitter, Facebook, and in a blog post at lds.org. On Facebook…
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Finding Nahom: The Continuing Search for Archaeological Confirmation of the Book of Mormon
On 17 June 2017 a new video produced by Book of Mormon Central appeared on the scene. LDS Living announced it with the headline, “How One Book of Mormon Location Was Archaeologically Confirmed.” I’m accustomed to seeing LDS assertions related to Book of Mormon archaeology, but they most often come wrapped in ambiguous language, using…
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