Category: Standard Works
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Inspired Version (Joseph Smith Translation) (Defined)
Inspired Version. Also known as the Joseph Smith Translation (JST). According to Doctrine and Covenants 73, Smith was commanded by God to work on a new translation of the Bible. It is said this was accomplished by way of revelation. While Mormon leaders have argued that the translation was not finished, the History of the Church reports that Smith finished his…
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Gold Plates (Defined)
Gold Plates. An historical record of American peoples written on plates of gold. In A.D. 421, Moroni, a Nephite warrior and son of Mormon, buried the plates in the Hill Cumorah. In 1823, as a resurrected being, Moroni revealed the whereabouts of the plates to Joseph Smith who was permitted to retrieve them in 1827.…
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Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) (Defined)
Doctrine and Covenants. One of Mormonism’s standard works. Also known as the D&C. Printed in 1835, the D&C is primarily a collection of supposed revelations given to Joseph Smith by God. Parts of the D&C were printed in 1833 under the title Book of Commandments.
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Cumorah (Defined)
Cumorah. Traditionally the hill in upstate New York located south of the town of Palmyra. Moroni buried the golden plates in this hill and appeared to Joseph Smith fourteen centuries later to reveal their whereabouts. Mormon scholars today are divided on the actual location of the Hill Cumorah. Many believe the hill was located in Central…
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Book of Mormon (Defined)
Book of Mormon. One of Mormonism’s standard works. It contains the story of a group of Jews led by a man named Lehi who left Israel and sailed to the American continent around 600 B.C. with, among others, his sons Nephi and Laman. The book records the wars and ultimate demise of their followers known…
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Book of Abraham (Defined)
Book of Abraham. “A Translation of some ancient Records, that have fallen into our hands from the catacombs of Egypt.—The writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus. See History of the Church 2:235, 236, 348-35” (Introduction to Abraham 1). According to a…
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Bible (Defined)
Bible. One of the four Standard Works. The official translation used is the King James Version of the Bible. According to the Eighth Article of Faith, the Bible is true only “as far as it is translated correctly.” Joseph Smith said, “Ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors” (Teachings of…
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Does John 9:1-3 prove the preexistence is true?
In John 9:1-3 the disciples passed by a man blind from birth and asked, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answers, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” Some Mormons have used this…
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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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Mormons and the Bible
In a discussion with an older Mormon missionary, Sister G learned that I had prayerfully read the Book of Mormon but had not found it to be the word of God. In her effort to discover what obstacle stood between me and Mormonism, we talked about a lot of different doctrinal issues. We discussed contradictions…
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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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Are the Evangelists of Ephesians 4:11 the Patriarchs of the LDS Church?
εὐαγγέλιον (yoo-ang-ghel’-ee-on) is “gospel” in Greek. Consider: εὐαγγελιστής (yoo-ang-ghel-is-tace). Not knowing Greek, which do you think is the more likely accurate translation of the second word? 1. Someone who shares/communicates/brings the good tidings, the good news. 2. Someone who gives patriarchal blessings. Now consider how the term is used by Paul to Timothy: > 2…
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The Dilemma of Revelation 1:6
By Aaron Shafovaloff The KJV of Revelation 1:6 reads, > “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
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Understanding James 2:26
In the course of a study on Ephesians, Tabletalk magazine discusses the relationship between a person’s good works and his justification before God. Examining James 2:14-26 (“faith without works is dead”), the magazine offers good insight into James’ teaching. Since Mormons regularly misappropriate this Bible passage as a proof-text to support the LDS doctrine of…
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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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