Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ is one of the four standard works, or scriptures, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). The other standard works are the Bible, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Doctrine and Covenants.

Moroni gives Joseph Smith the plates

Joseph Smith Translating the Plates

Mormons believe that Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon from a set of gold plates he received from an angel named Moroni

“Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light; and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine. A piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and on that appeared the writing. One character at a time would appear, and under it was the interpretation in English. Brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear. Thus the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man.” (David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, Richmond, Mo.: n.p., 1887, p. 12.)

-Russell M. Nelson, “A Treasured Testament,”

The Book of Mormon tells the story of the descendents of a man named Lehi, who took his family from Jerusalem to the Americas. According to the book, Lehi's wicked sons, Laman and Lemual, turned against his righteous sons, Nephi and Sam, and were cursed with dark skin. Mormons believe that descendents of Lehi were the ancestors of some Native Americans; these people are referred to as "Lamanites" in the Book of Mormon: A post-resurrection appearance in the New World by Jesus is also described in the Book of Mormon.

Nephi and Sam's descendents, the Nephites, eventually turned to wickedness and were destroyed by the more numerous Lamanites. One of the last Nephites, Moroni, buried the golden plates in what is now New York State to keep them from falling into the hands of the Lamanites and being destroyed. Three Nephites were blessed with eternal life and still wander the Earth today serving others.

In 1982, the subtitle, "Another Testament of Jesus Christ," was added to the title page.

Mormons and other Latter-Day Saints believe that the book is of ancient origin and that the personages and events described therein are factual. At the same time, Mormons deny that the book is to be considered inerrant. Critics assert that its contents have been changed a number of times by LDS authorities; Mormons reply that the changes are merely grammatical corrections.

Historicity

The Book of Mormon is widely criticized for the absence of evidence supporting it. The list of missing artifacts includes almost forty entire cities (all cities named therein), animals (such as horses and cattle), metals (iron and steel), evidence of wars (involving multiple thousands of deaths), weapons (including swords, spears and armor), machinery and other technology cited within it - spanning the many hundreds of years covered by the narrative.

Because no such supporting evidence has been found, the LDS church takes no official position on the geography of the Book of Mormon.

Artifacts of such a nature (found in the Americas) have been found to have been introduced into the areas in question by Europeans colonists much later than the timeframe claimed in the Book of Mormon. Mormon Apologists have worked to find counterarguments and responses to all of these claims.

Mormon apologists have responded by citing, for example, the first Book of the Book of Mormon (1 Nephi) in which discoveries of place locations thought not to have existed prior to discovery are to be found. An instance of this concerns the alleged discovery of the place known as "Nahom" as mentioned here ([5]), a burial place which was discovered and is said by Mormons to be referred to in no other text. Likewise Old world geography in the Book has been pinpointed by apologists.

Opponents have pointed to linguistic anachronisms in the text, such as it being written entirely in a Sixteenth-century King James style and its use of words such as French word "adieu". Mormon apologists argue that they have found numerous Semetic linguistic and literary traits within it which make it appear authentic, such as the inclusion of Chaismus and numerous other Hebrew traits within the text

Mormons do ultimately confess that the main evidence and support for the Book of Mormon does not center upon history or language but upon faith that it is a divinely inspired document.

Mormon apologist Jeff Lindsay has compiled his own list Book of Mormon evidences.

Contents

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ is divided up into many sections or parts, including a Title Page, Introduction, The Testimony of Three Witnesses, The Testimony of Eight Witnesses, the Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, A Brief Explanation about The Book of Mormon, and the following main parts or divisions commonly referred to as "books," as in "The Book of Moroni," followed by the common abbreviation in parentheses:

• First Nephi (1 Ne.)
• Second Nephi (2 Ne.)
• Jacob (Jacob)
• Enos (Enos)
• Jarom (Jarom)
• Omni (Omni)
• Words of Mormon (W of M)
• Mosiah (Mosiah)
• Alma (Alma)
• Helaman (Hel.)
• Third Nephi (3 Ne.)
• Fourth Nephi (4 Ne.)
• Mormon (Morm.)
• Ether (Ether)
• Moroni (Moro.).

The first sentence of the Introduction is quite self-explanatory: "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."

• Objects listed in the Book of Mormon
• People listed in the Book of Mormon
• Places listed in the Book of Mormon

Other denominations

The Book of Mormon is accepted as Scripture by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and by other Latter-day Saints denominations, the largest of which, the Community of Christ (est. 1860), publishes its own versions of the Book of Mormon with different chapter and verse divisions and one with "modernized" language. Other Christian denominations, Catholic and Protestant, reject the Book of Mormon, considering it to be neither inspired nor ancient.

Polygamy

The Book of Mormon forbids polygamy without exception, as shown in the following quotes:

Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord . . . Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife, and concubines he shall have none (Jacob 2:24, 27).

By their advocacy of the doctrine that the Book of Mormon is inspired by God and hence authoritative, the LDS Church is under the divine command to recognize anyone who practices polygamy must be labeled an apostate from the true faith. Polygamy, which is so degrading to women, is “abominable before me, saith the Lord.” The plain meaning of these verses was accepted without question in 1835 (the Book of Mormon was published in 1830), as shown by this entry in the first edition of the "Doctrine and Covenants":

Inasmuch as this church of Christ has been reproached with the crime of fornication, and polygamy: we declare that we believe, that one man should have one wife; and one woman, but one husband, except in the case of death, when either is at liberty to marry again.

This condemnation of polygamy was printed in every edition of the "Doctrine and Covenants" until 1876, at which time polygamy was authorized and the section condemning it was completely removed. There was, however, no attempt to change the text in the Book of Mormon, because too many copies had already been circulated. How the change in doctrine to the acceptance of polygamy came about is explained by a letter written by Oliver Cowdery and dated January 21, 1838. Cowdery, one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon, wrote the following about an conversation he had with Joseph Smith sometime in the early or mid-1830s:

When he [Joseph Smith] was there we had some conversation in which in every instance I did not fail to affirm that what I had said was strictly true. A dirty, nasty, filthy affair of his and Fanny Alger’s was talked over in which I strictly declared that I had never deviated from the truth in the matter, and as I supposed was admitted by himself.

Having been caught in adultery, Smith’s eventual recourse was, not to repent, but to declare that God gave him the extra wives. This explanation was formalized in a “revelation” supposedly given on July 12, 1843, by which time Smith had acquired many plural wives. He probably did not realize that, in justifying his actions by declaring a divine revelation, he was following in the footsteps of Muhammad, the great false prophet of Islam. In surah (chapter) 4, verse 3 of the Qur’an, a man is allowed to have up to four wives and no more. For Muhammad, however, this eventually became too restrictive, and so he received a new revelation that he, as a prophet (but no one else) was allowed to have as many wives as he wanted (surah 33:50). The original revelation was countermanded or “abrogated” by the later revelation. Since this revoking and replacing happened so many times with Muhammad’s prophecies, the dogma of abrogation, where Allah contradicts and replaces what he said previously, has become an important doctrine of Muslim theology.

The same principle (abrogation) became operative in the LDS Church and continues to this day, so that the President of the Church, who supposedly has the authority of a prophet, seer, and revelator, can change any doctrine and the faithful are obliged to accept his authority to do so without question and without pointing out the inconsistencies with past doctrine. Thus polygamy, declared against the will of God in the Book of Mormon, became not only accepted but a virtue in the LDS church. The “revelation” that authorized the practice of polygamy among Latter-day Saints during the 19th Century is recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 132. John Taylor, third President of the Mormon Church, declared:

We are not ashamed here in this great metropolis of America * * * to declare that we are polygamists. We are not ashamed to proclaim to this great nation, to rulers and people, to the president, senators, legislators, judges; to high and low, rich and poor, priests and people, that we are firm, conscientious believers in polygamy, and that it is part and parcel of our religious creed.

Instead of a sin against God (Book of Mormon), polygamy became an essential virtue. Brigham Young, Second President of the LDS Church, declared “The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy." And, in the Millennial Star: "The order of plurality of wives is an everlasting and ceaseless order, designed to exalt the choicest men and women to the most superlative excellence, dominion, and glory.” Joseph Smith’s revelation about polygamy declared “For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant, and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory . . .” Sin had become a virtue, and virtue a sin.

Succumbing to political pressure, however, the leadership of the LDS church eventually abrogated the “everlasting covenant” in which “if ye abide not that covenant, then ye are damned.” Polygamy reverted to its previous status as a sin: “Any who pretend or assume to engage in plural marriage in this day, when the one holding the keys has withdrawn the power by which they are performed, are guilty of gross wickedness. They are living in adultery, have already sold their souls to the devil, and (whether their acts are based on ignorance or lust or both) they will be damned in eternity.” These reversals in doctrine show that Mormons are not expected to regard as their final authority the Book of Mormon or the Bible, but the changing doctrines of their leaders, whom they are expected to follow without question and especially without pointing out the inconsistency of Mormon doctrine over the years. As Jesus said,

Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’ (Mark 7:6, 7, ESV).

External links

• The Book of Mormon - An online edition
• The Logical Arguments of the Book of Mormon, Kelly Bingham, November 1, 1997