Category: Book of Mormon
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Mormonism “fell a heap of ruins.”
Stephen Burnett became a Mormon in November of 1830. In 1831 he was ordained to the office of High Priest, and in 1832 he became a Mormon missionary. He was a faithful Mormon for many years, but what he witnessed in Kirtland, Ohio, did in his faith. Historian Dan Vogel explains, “By late 1837 [Burnett]…
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The Smithsonian Institution and the Book of Mormon
I recently came across an undated online Q&A wherein Mormon Robert Starling at the Book of Mormon Archeological Forum responded to a question regarding the Smithsonian Institution’s position on the Book of Mormon (Mr. Starling’s response is undated, but content elsewhere in his letter indicates that it was written after 2007). Mr. Starling quotes a…
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Beit Lei: Another “Proof” for the Book of Mormon?
In 1961, Israeli military engineers working on a road about twenty-two miles away from Jerusalem near Israel’s border with Jordan uncovered a burial tomb. Inside were drawings and inscriptions on the walls, including the Hebrew name for God (YHWH) and Jerusalem. There were also pictures of boats on the walls.Because the cave resides near the…
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The Book of Mormon: The Keystone of Mormon Doctrine
The October 2011 Ensign magazine was a special issue, dedicated entirely to the topic of the Book of Mormon. LDS apostle Todd Christofferson’s article explained how to study the Book of Mormon and quoted past LDS prophet Ezra Taft Benson’s top three reasons that people should make study of the Book of Mormon “a lifetime…
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The “genius” of the Book of Mormon
During a General Conference talk on October 2 (2011) LDS General Authority Tad Callister spoke about the Book of Mormon being “A Book from God.” Church News reports: “The genius of the Book of Mormon is there is no middle ground, declared Elder Tad R. Callister of the Presidency of the Seventy. ‘It is either…
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Courage to View the Gold Plates
Pomeroy Tucker was a contemporary of Joseph Smith. Living in Palmyra, New York, he knew the Smith family, counted Martin Harris among his friends, and was actively engaged in the 1830 printing process of the Book of Mormon. In 1867 Pomeroy Tucker published a book about Mormonism titled, “Origin, rise, and progress of Mormonism: Biography…
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An Interesting Discovery: A Map of the Travels of Moroni
In the ongoing Mormon Apologist Wars on the location of the Book of Mormon lands, one advocate of the LGT (Limited Geography Theory) is Michael Ash. In February of this year, he published an article entitled, “How Moroni and the plates may have made it to Hill Cumorah.” He postulates that Moroni traveled from Mesoamerica…
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Where are the Gold Plates Now?
By Bill McKeeverAccording to Mormon lore, Smith claimed to receive the “few plates” from Moroni in 1827 and from them translated the Book of Mormon. When he was finished translating the plates he gave them back to the angel who he claimed “has them in his charge” (Joseph Smith History 1:60). Many ask, “Where are…
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First Nephi and the Son of God
The book of First Nephi (in the Book of Mormon) reflects four significant (and similar) additions that Joseph Smith made to the original text before the publication of the second edition in 1837. The changes are indicated by italics in the following: 1830: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of God Now:…
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The Three Witnesses and Reality
On March 18, 2010 LDS professor Daniel Peterson authored a guest blog for Mormon Times. In “The three witnesses and the reality of the Book of Mormon” Dr. Peterson writes, “Serious critics of the Book of Mormon must neutralize the testimonies of the witnesses to the golden plates. “ Dr. Peterson praises another LDS professor,…
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“Joseph’s name should be had…”
When Mormon Times, reported on the 2009 BYU Campus Education Week some months ago, it told of a soon-to-be-available collection of online documents titled “19th Century Publications on the Book of Mormon.” When it becomes available, this set of documents will be part of BYU’s digital collections, a really helpful resource of original source documents…
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Buyer Beware
On March 26th, 1830, following a reprint of the text from the title page of the Book of Mormon, this announcement appeared in the Wayne Sentinel: The above work, containing about 600 pages, large Duodecimo, is now for sale, wholesale and retail, at the Palmyra Bookstore, by HOWARD & GRANDIN. The initial printing totaled 5,000…
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The Book of Mormon: True or False?
At the request of our Mormon friends here at Mormon Coffee, today’s topic for discussion is, The Book of Mormon: True or False? Before the discussion starts, however, I need to lay down some ground rules. It is understood by all here that Mormons ultimately believe the Book of Mormon is true due to personal…
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Lost Book of Lehi
During the summer of 1828, while working on the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith allowed his scribe, Martin Harris, to take 116 pages of the manuscript home to show Mrs. Harris. The manuscript pages disappeared. The lost book of Lehi is still missing; it has never been restored to the Book of Mormon. As the…
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Lost Book of Mormon Geography
The dispute over where the events in the Book of Mormon took place continues in a recent Deseret News/Mormon Times article titled, “Raiders of the Lost Book of Mormon Geography.” In the second installment of a two-part article “former CEO of a manufacturing company turned researcher” Rod Meldrum sets his theory against the limited geography…
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The Prophecy of Isaiah is Fulfilled
“You will indeed see but never perceive.” –Matthew 13:14 In March (2008) Boyd K. Packer, president of the LDS Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke via satellite to Latter-day Saints gathered for a stake conference in Bolivia. Speaking of his love for the Book of Mormon, Mr. Packer related the difficulty he had as a…
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“As Does the Bible”
Since 1981 the Introduction to the Book of Mormon has stated, “The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fulness of the everlasting Gospel.” Recently the Introduction was…
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The Attempt to Sell the Book of Mormon Copyright
Text of Revelation (link) A Revelation given to Joseph Oliver [Cowdery] Hyram [Hiram Page] Josiah [Stowell] & Joseph Knight given at Manchester Ontario C[ounty] New York Behold I the Lord am God I Created the Heavens & the Earth & all things that in them is wherefore they are mine & I sway my scepter over all…
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Changing the Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon has undergone manifold changes since it’s first printing in 1830. Some of these changes have been minor, and some have carried doctrinal impact. When the 1981 edition of the Book of Mormon was published it reflected nearly 100 noteworthy changes from the 1920 edition. Apparently more changes are on the way;…
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