Category: Book of Mormon
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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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How Did Joseph Smith “Translate” the Book of Mormon?
In the recent PBS special, The Mormons, Daniel Peterson publicly and explicitly admitted that “most of the translation [of the Book of Mormon] was done using something called a seer stone.” Since many Mormons have labeled claims like these “anti-Mormon“, Peterson’s statement is significant because he is a professor at BYU and is considered the…
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Are Ancient Coins Mentioned in the Book of Mormon?
Does the Book of Mormon speak about coins? For many years, the heading to Alma 11 referred to “coins,” which made sense since the chapter described different precious metal measurements upon which the Nephites based their monetary system. Although LDS apologists complained that “coins” were never referenced in this chapter, the LDS Church kept the…
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Book Review: Quest for the Gold Plates: Thomas Stuart Ferguson’s Archaeological Search for The Book of Mormon
By Stan Larson Reviewed By Eric Johnson
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Did Mahonri Moriancumr Discover America?
By Bill McKeever Who was first to reach the New World? Many historians believe it was the Italian-born explorer Christopher Columbus, who, on August 3, 1492, set sail across the Atlantic and, three months later, landed on an island in the Bahamas he called San Salvador. Others contend that explorers from the north country, the…
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Nephite Synagogues: Where Did They Originate?
By Edward Mellott It is not unusual to encounter, in literary works, details that are out of place as to their time. Those are called ‘anachronisms’ which are placed by the writer in a time before the objects existed. An example of this is the mention of a clock in the play Julius Caesar by…
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Stela 5 and Lehi’s Vision of the Tree of Life
By Lane Thuet The Book of Mormon claims to be a record of a group of Israelites that traveled to the American continent around 600 BC, as well as the record of another group that settled there at the time of the Tower of Babel. The book speaks of their populating and settling vast areas…
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Headless People Don’t Do Push-Ups – the Story of Coriantumr and Shiz
By Bill McKeever Can a decapitated body lift itself up and gasp for breath? A story in the Book of Mormon seems to say so. The story is found in the Book of Ether and recounts a sword fight between a Jaredite king named Coriantumr (Ether 12:1) and Shiz, the brother of Lib (Ether 14:17).
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Was Jesus Born “at Jerusalem”?
In the early 1990s we wrote two articles and an unpublished manuscript about the mistake that we believe Joseph Smith made in the Book of Mormon regarding the origin of Jesus’ birth. We received immediate feedback from the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS), an organization based at Brigham Young University in Provo,…
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A Seer Stone and a Hat – "Translating" the Book of Mormon
Joseph Smith’s translation of the Book of Mormon via a seer stone is debated. Eyewitness accounts describe his use of a hat to block light during the process, raising questions about its credibility.
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Does Revelation 22:18 Condemn the Book of Mormon?
By Bill McKeever
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Test Your Knowledge of the Book of Mormon
In 1841 Joseph Smith declared that the Book of Mormon was "the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts than by any other book" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 194). In light of such a fantastic claim, it behooves an individual to take…
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How Heavy Were Those Gold Plates?
Paramount in the story of the Latter-day Saints is the account given by Joseph Smith of a visitation he received from the angel Moroni on September 21, 1823. He stated that after he retired to bed, his room became filled with light. At his bedside stood an angel who called Smith by name and told…
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Can a Myth be Scripture?
One of the primary reasons millions of Christians believe the Bible is the Word of God is its historicity. The Bible speaks of real people and real events. Even though not every place named in the Bible has actually been located, enough sites have been discovered to give the Bible a considerable amount of trust.On…
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NHM – A Place Name from the Book of Mormon?
At the Worlds of Joseph Smith Conference held in Washington, D.C. in May 2005, BYU professor John Welch spoke about circumstantial pieces of evidence that he believes substantiates Joseph Smith’s claim as a prophet. Among the list of “evidence” Welch supplied was an inscription on a stone from the country of Yemen, which is located…
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Commandment-Keeping and God’s Grace
My October, 2006 edition of Ensign just arrived. I wish more of my Christian friends who think Mormonism is abandoning its heretical past would take closer notice of what the LDS Church is still teaching; for instance, in an article titled “Plain and Precious Truths Restored.” On page 53, Clyde Williams, BYU assistant professor of…
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Mormon Circles
According to the LDS history web site, on this day (September 22nd) in 1827 Joseph Smith “received the golden plates from the angel Moroni on the hill where they were buried.” Eyewitnesses reported that Joseph took the gold plates home and began translating them with the help of a seer stone — that is, a…
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DNA and Mormonism
Check out this article that appeared today on the LA Times web site: Bedrock of a Faith Is Jolted DNA tests contradict Mormon scripture. The church says the studies are being twisted to attack its beliefs. By William Lobdell, Times Staff Writer From the time he was a child in Peru, the Mormon Church instilled…
