The following is my response to the many Mormons who have written and challenging me to study the Book of Mormon, the LDS church teachings, and pray about them being true.
The following is my response to the many Mormons who have written and challenging me to study the Book of Mormon, the LDS church teachings, and pray about them being true.
This is general characterization of the content of letters challenging me to study the BOM:
"I have been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints almost all my life. The idea that Mormons are not Christians is misguided. Mormons worship the son of God, the Savior of the world. The same Christ that you worship. He pays the price for all sin, so that we could repent and follow His ways, and receive eternal life. I wish that you could see the love that members of the church have for Christ. I know the BOM is true and have received witness that the Book of Mormon is true through the power of the Holy Ghost. He has borne witness to me multiple times. I prayed and ask God to tell me if the Church is true. I felt the Spirit, it answers my prayers. This is the true gospel on the earth today. Modern day prophets speak for God on earth. I have had many instances where I have received witness from the Holy Ghost. I invite you to study, ponder, and pray about the church teachings. I know they are true." (this was revised July 2011)
Your e-mail is typical of the many I get from Mormons concerning my explanations as to why the LDS church nor its members are Christians.
I have addressed the issue of Mormons being Christians in articles on my web sites. Please read, "Are Mormons Christians?" I would like to address the issue you bring up of studying LDS literature.
You referred to the information on my web sites as misinformation. My web page has a great deal of information on Mormonism, but I feel that those who accuse me of giving out misinformation are only reading the titles and not reading the information they contain. The material I present is well documented from official LDS sources. I am not making up the information, but only publishing it. Of all the Mormons who have written, rarely has any Mormon addressed my questions and tried to answer the overwhelming evidence against the LDS church being the "true church." Rather, they tell me to read the Book of Mormon and pray and I will come to their truth. By the way, I do pray daily to my God and Creator and also study His Word, the Bible, daily.
You said, "I invite you to study, ponder, and pray about the church's teachings. I know they are true."
I believe that those of you who write me honestly believe that if someone "studies, ponders and prays about the church's teaching" they will become Mormons. I disagree, because if a person honestly and scholarly studies the Book of Mormon and Mormon literature they would never place their eternal destiny in the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith or the LDS church.
Let me further reply that if you read my material it will prove to you that I have, in fact, done a great deal of study and research on the LDS church. I have lived in the Mormon heart land of Utah, since 1986. I have been studying the Mormon teachings for over twenty five years. I am not a novice concerning LDS doctrine. In my library are many volumes of LDS teachings and scriptures I use for reference, including an official LDS data base with hundreds of volumes of searchable LDS literature on computer software. Some of the LDS materials I have are not released to the public such as the official "General Handbook of Instruction." The statements that I make in my materials are well documented from the original LDS sources. Further I also have studied the Bible for more than thirty years, studied it almost daily. I have two earned degrees in Bible a ThB and MBS for a total of seven years of formal training so I also know what the Bible says. I even wrote my Master's thesis on Mormon theology.
I would like to ask you a question? You say you know the teaching of the LDS church are true. I would like to ask on what basis do you judge these teachings to be true. My question is have you done a detailed study of the LDS church which including its teachings, writing of its "authorities, and historical beginnings as I have done? Most Mormon have not, but rather reply they prayed and the Holy Spirit gave them a feeling (burning in the bosom) that the BOM was true. Is it wise to trust in one's feelings? Muslims too "feel" their religion is real and Allah is God. They feel it so strongly many blow themselves up killing the infidels who do not believe in Allah and will not accept their religion. Any logical person knows you cannot trust feelings. Only creditable demonstrable provable evidence establishes what is true. I too have a testimony and feel absolutely assured about it and that is Mormonism is a false religion and only biblical Christianity as revealed by God in His word the Bible is truth. How can I prove my feelings are right? I can compare what I believe and feel with God's word, history, and science.
THE RESULTS OF MY INVESTIGATION:
In response to your invitation to study, I would like to present you with a few results of my investigations of the Book of Mormon.
The Mormon church says that Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God, yet I have in my library a photocopy of the original 1830 the Book of Mormon, that when compared to latest modern version shows there has been almost 4000 changes in the text since the original was published. In the book, "The Teachings of Joseph Smith, page 194, Joseph Smith says, "I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth." In the official LDS publication, "History of the Church" it reads, "These plates have been revealed by the power of God, and they have been translated by the power of God. The translation of them which you have seen (1830) is correct, and I command you to bear record of what you see and hear." (Vol. 1, page 55)
You ask me to study and so I have. I have found that there are almost 4000 changes from the present Book of Mormon and the 1830 original. I have a photo copy of the original BOM with all the changes marked. I have a hard time understanding that if the Book of Mormon was correct in 1830, and given under the power of God, why has the LDS church has found 4000 places it was in error and made changes? Please understand, the translation that Joseph Smith and the LDS church said was "correct" was translated under the direct control of God. Note that Smith said that those present heard the voice of God in a bright light and it was God that said the translation was made in God's power and is correct. That is a very straight forward statement that says the translation was correct. Why did God supposedly tell Smith it was correct when in fact it was not correct and needed to be revised many times? The fact is it was not correct....according to the LDS church who has revised it in so many places. By the way...the LDS church does not consider the BOM to be infallible, yet claims is the most correct book ever written. The fact the LDS church has made so many changes causes a serious problem with the creditably of the BOM.
The King James Bible was a translation from Greek manuscripts into English by men who did not claim that God directly controlled their work. You cannot compare how the KJV was translated and the BOM.
Often Mormons will tell me that these corrections to the Book of Mormon are only to correct spelling, typos, etc. but do not affect doctrine.
Many of the changes do fall under this category, however, many are not printing errors. Printing errors can be understood and accepted...they happen. But the corrections to the BOM are more than printing errors as many are changes to the original text. It is interesting to read the letter the printer John H. Gilbert wrote concerning the condition of the manuscript which Smith brought him. From his comments it is hard to imagine that God said it was correctly translated. See the letter by clicking this line . Also Click here to read the American Bookseller interview with the printer in 1877.
This is the crux of the matter....Smith said God said it was correct....yet everyone knows it was not correct....and the LDS church determined it needed to be corrected in places.
For example:
In the first edition we read as follows:
"... These last records ... shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Eternal Father and the Savior ... " (Book of Mormon, 1830 edition, page 32)
In the 1964 edition it reads as follows:
"... These last records ... shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the [Son of] the Eternal Father, and the Savior ..." (Book of Mormon, 1964 edition, 1 Nephi 13:40)
This correction is a doctrinal change...Smith's first edition which claims it was inspired by God and was correct...says that Jesus Christ is God the eternal Father.... The later editions say he is the Son of the eternal father. The reason for the first statement is clear...the Bible says that Jesus is God the Eternal Father....and Smith correctly stated this doctrine...but later he changed his doctrine and denied what the Bible clearly teaches.
Another correction that the God supposedly said was correct was actually in error...
In Mosiah 21:28 the name of the king has been changed from Benjamin to Mosiah. In the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon we read as follows:
"... king Benjamin had a gift from God, whereby he could interpret such engravings ..." (Book of Mormon, 1830 edition, page 200)
In modern editions of the Book of Mormon this verse has been changed to read:
"... king Mosiah had a gift from God, whereby he could interpret such engravings ..." (Book of Mormon, 1964 edition, Mosiah 21:28)
According to chronology found in the Book of Mormon, king Benjamin was dead at this time; therefore, the Mormon Church leaders evidently felt that it was best to change the king's name to Mosiah. This simply means the original BOM had a serious error and begs the question....how could there be such an obvious error when God is claimed to have superintended the writing? How could the book be correct with this type of error?
2. The Book of Mormon, according to Joseph Smith, is a translation of "gold plates" from "Reformed Egyptian" which was the language of the people in the Americas into English. This information is found in the front of every Book of Mormon in the testimony of the "three witnesses." The plates are not available today because according to Joseph Smith, the angel Moroni took them back and hid them, so they are not available for inspection. However, is it not strange that no reliable linguist or Egyptologists ever refers to "reformed Egyptian? No ancient civilization has been more closely studied that the Egyptians. There is absolute no record anywhere that the Hebrews ever spoke any form of Egyptian or ever wrote anything in that language. Egyptians were the enemies of the Jews and certainly they never took Egyptian as their language as the Book of Mormon says. Outside Joseph Smith's claims there has never been any discovery in Egypt, America, or anywhere in the world of "reformed Egyptian?" It is also interesting that the Book of Mormon does not claim to be a book from Egypt, but from North America!
Also when one investigates the archaeological discoveries from North, Central and South America there is not found any "reformed Egyptian" or any language even close to Egyptian.
3. Joseph Smith, claimed that he made a copy of some of the characters on the golden plates and that Martin Harris, showed them to a professor Charles Anthon, in New York. In the official "History of the Church" Vol. 1, page 20, Joseph Smith claimed that professor Anthon authenticated the characters and said they were correctly translated. However, in 1834, when Professor Anthon was asked about the matter and he totally denied authenticating the inscription and proclaimed that he had to the contrary pronounced the characters to be a trick or a hoax and said it contain anything but Egyptian hieroglyphics. (A letter by Professor Charles Anthon, as quoted in "A Comprehensive History of the Church, Vol. I, page 103)
Again, my studies and investigation of the claims of Joseph Smith concerning the Book of Mormon being translated from "reformed Egyptian" does not stand the test of archaeology or reliable eye witnesses.
4. The Book of Mormon says the people of the Americas possessed and used, such things as iron, steel, brass, gold and silver coins, swords, cimeters, breast plates, arm shields, armor, horses, and chariots, wheat, barley, olives, and silk. Also they are said to have had domesticated animals of cattle, oxen, cows, sheep, swine, horses, asses, elephants, cureloms and cumoms.
The BOM dates up to the 5th Century AD and on investigation you find that not one of these items or animals has been found in America before the arrival of Europeans over a thousand years later. The only exception is that there were elephants in the New World and there is evidence that they were killed and eaten. The problem is, that the dates that modern archaeologist use, they became extinct at least 10,000 years eariler. That would be at least 6000 years before the Nephites and the Lamanites of the Book of Mormon were suppose to arrive in the New World from the Middle East.
[Note: I am a Biblical Creationist and I do not concur with the above dates because according to Bible and true science the earth is only 6000 years old. The date is included to demonstrate that even secular archaeology discounts the Book of Mormon.]
In the Sinai desert the BOM says there was much fruit and wild honey (1 Nephi 17:5). Problem is this area was an unfarmable desert and there was no fruit grown there in ancient or modern times. Further the BOM says there was timber grown there which the Hebrews used to build their ship to cross the ocean to come to America (1 Nephi 18:1). Again the problem is archaeology and science confirms there has never been timber growing in that desert. From the earliest accounts the Sinai has always been a desert.
5. The Book of Mormon is suppose to be a record of a conflict between the Nephites who were the people of God and the Lamanites who were evil. The Indians of the Americas according the LDS church are the descendants of the Lamanites. The Lamanites totally destroyed all the Nephites in 491 A.D. in great battles and the last of the Nephites was a prophet named Mormon. There are many problems with these claims.
One problem is that LDS church claims that the Lamanites of the Book of Mormon are American Indians who are the descendants of the Hebrews and in particular the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh of the 6th Century B.C. Anthropologists tell us that the American Indians are Mongoloids and not Semites. They have made extensive DNA studies on native Americans in North, Central, and South America. The DNA proves without question that native Americans are not Hebrews nor have Hebrew DNA. That Jews are Semites not Mongoloids, is an indisputable fact, thus the Book of Mormon is wrong again.
The BOM says Lamanites and the Nephites spoke the language called "reformed Egyptian." Any competent linguist will tell you that there is no correspondence between the etymology, philosophy, or phonetics of the "Hebrew" and "Egyptian" names in the Book of Mormon and languages of the American Indians. The Lamanites, according to the Book of Mormon, destroyed the Nephites in 421 A. D., thus if the American Indians spoke "reformed Egyptian" why is there no trace of it in the languages of American natives today? How did every trace of their language disappear in less than a thousand years. The evidence is that the some of the languages of the American Indians such as Navajo and Apache is akin to Ket language spoken in remote Siberia which seems to suggest the inhabitants of the America's came across the Bering Strait (then a land bridge). (Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences 95:13994-13996, November 1998) No
Do not think for a moment that the LDS church is not aware of these unanswerable problems. Marvin Hill, a professor of history at BYU, under the pressure of the historical evidence against the Book of Mormon had this to say:
(I added the underline)
What an amazing statement! Miller says it does not matter that something historically never happened it is true because Smith wrote it?! Smith wrote that there were people who lived on the moon and they looked like Quakers! Is that true too simply because Smith said it?
Again I have investigated the LDS church's teaching and again they come up short of truth.
6. Thomas Stuart Ferguson, was a devoted Mormon scholar, who totally believed in the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. In 1952, he with Dr. A.V. Kidder, dean of Central American archaeologists planned the foundation of the New Word Archaeological Foundation, which was administrated by BYU. The goal of the foundation was to find evidence supporting the Book of Mormon. One of Ferguson's works was investigating the Egyptian Papyri, from which Joseph Smith said he translated the "Pearl of Great Price." When the papyri was discovered in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ferguson consulted two leading Egyptologists at the University of California. When the papyri was translated it was found to be actually, the Book of Breathings which was a funeral text made for a man named "Hor." The papyri was an authentic Egyptian document, but had nothing to do with Abraham. The actual text contained the names of pagan Egyptian gods and goddesses. This proved beyond any doubt that Joseph Smith had perpetrated a fraud and the Pearl of Great Price, one of the four standard works of the LDS church, is a forgery. Hugh Nibley, the BYU "scholar," continued to defend the Pearl of Great Price as being true in spite of the evidence. The official stand of the LDS church today is still that it is a valid document translated by Joseph Smith. In this case, as well as all other investigations of the teachings of the LDS church, it does not make any difference what the evidence says. The LDS church maintains that it is a true church in spite of what the evidence clearly proves. But that is what you would expect, wouldn't you? If the LDS church admitted to the truth it would cease to exist and be abandoned.
You asked me to study? May I ask what is the point in studying if one's research is discounted it if does not a line with what Mormonism teaches. What is the point of study as it does not matter what the result is from the study. If the study contradicts the teachings of the LDS church then the study according to them is wrong and it does not matter how accurate or detailed is the investigation. The sole criteria for determining what is accurate according to the LDS church is "Does it agree with their teachings." Thus, I suggest that the Mormons believe the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price to be true works of God and ignore the overwhelming weight of evidence that it is a fraud and not what Smith claimed it to be. Stuart Ferguson was an honest hardworking LDS scholar who proved the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price were not authentic, but his work was totally ignored by the LDS church. In fact his relatives after his death tried to claim he died a devout Mormon, when in fact due to his investigations he had totally rejected Mormonism.
7. On investigation of the Book of Mormon I have found that most of the cardinal teachings of the LDS church are not even found in the Book. The Doctrine & Covenants 20:9, states that the Book of Mormon is the "fullness of the gospel." Why then do you not find the major doctrines of the LDS church in the Book of Mormon?
1. The Aaronic and Melchizedek priest hood.
I have investigated the teachings of the LDS church and find serious problems in what its teaches and practices. Its literature is full of contractions, errors, and yes fraudulent literature which is claimed came from God. If the Book of Mormon is the "fullness of the gospel" why do you not find the practices of the LDS in the book that was suppose to come God and be the foundation of Mormonism?
I am a biblical Christian and I base my belief on the Bible which can be proven to be the Word of God. I can quote you charter and verse from the Bible for everything I believe. I can from history and science prove to you that the Bible has never erred when it speaks of historical events, matters of science, dates, peoples, and languages. I do not blindly put my faith in the Bible, because it can be shown to be accurate in all that it says.
What I have presented here is just the tip of the iceberg. The founder of Communism is quoted as saying, if you tell a lie forcefully enough and long enough people will believe it. His statement is correct, but telling people untruths and getting millions of people to believe them....still does not make a lie the truth. There is no Mormon man-become-god and heavenly father, or Jesus Christ who is the brother of Lucifer, or exalted men who have become gods on planets out in the universe. The only true God is the God of the Bible and He is no exalted man and His only begotten Son is not the sexually conceived son and brother to Satan nor was He ever a spirit child in heaven. Man cannot by good works and by being faithful to the LDS church and Mormon Gospel become a god. However, a man will go to heaven if he believes the real Gospel preached by the Apostle Paul and recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:1-5. A man can by believing in the real Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate in Flesh, receive total forgiveness for sin, become a real child of God, and received eternal life and when he dies go to the real Heaven where God is. (John 3:16, Romans 1-:9-10, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 4:5, John 1:12) Just click this line if you would you like to read my testimony of how God forgave my sins and I received eternal life.
I would suggest that Mormons take the same challenge given to me to study. You may like to start by clicking this line and reading an article on my web site titled, "How We Got the Bible." Further I suggest that you take the Bible, and read first the Gospel of John, and then Romans. Further, it would be very profitable is you compared the Mormon gospel with the Gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed in the New Testament. For a clear explanation of God's plan of salvation please go to: http:\\bible-truth.org/gospel.html .
God bless you in your studies and may you savingly find our real God and Creator Jesus Christ.
I would also suggest these articles:
In Christ's name,
Cooper Abrams
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The BOM says there was a river which flowed from that area into the Red Sea. The fact is there is or never has been a river there (1 Nephi 2:6-9).
Again on investigation the Book of Mormon fails the test of genuineness and contains serious and irreconcilable errors. Any secular work which made such gross errors in historical information would be immediately discounted as a fraud. What amazes me is the Mormons ignore all these provable evidences that discount the validity of the BOM.
". . .everybody's questioning whether the plates existed and whether the Book of Mormon is history and so on. The stopping place for all of that is if you believe that Joseph is a prophet and if what he had to say is inspired. The Doctrine and Covenants doesn't have to be history to be true, and my feeling is that the Book of Mormon may not have to be history to be true."
To that I would have to say... "Run that by me again." Hill said what I am hearing over and over again as the present line of thought from the LDS church officials.....the Book of Mormon does not have to be history to be true. My friend, it is either history and therefore true or is not history and therefore not true. Please explain to me how something that never happen can be history and true? Further is is logical or makes good sense to put one's eternal destiny in a book that has such gross errors and mistakes?
Following is a list of the foundational teachings and practices of the LDS church and not one of them is found in the Book of Mormon:
A capsule of my investigations:
2. The plurality of gods.
3. God is an exalted man.
4. Man can become a god.
5. The three degrees of heaven.
6. The plurality of wives.
7. The Word of Wisdom.
8. The pre-existence of the human spirit.
9. Baptisms for the dead.
10. Celestial marriage.
11. The need of a present day prophet.
12. The temple works of washings, anointing, endowments, sealing.(the new & everlasting covenant of marriage).
13. The organizational structure of the church with it Prophet, Apostles, General Authorities, etc.
What is the basic difference between Mormonism and Biblical Christianity? A look at the serious difference between Mormonism and Biblical Christianity that proves the Mormon god is not the God of the Bible.
Are Mormons Christian? An article that addresses the differences between Mormonism and Biblical Christianity.
Is the God of Mormonism the God of the Bible?
A Comparison of the Mormon god with the God of the Bible that proves they are not the same and that Mormons are not true Christians.
The differences in the terminology between Christians and Mormons. (Utah Lighthouse Ministries)
"Who is God" A series of messages on who is God as revealed in the Bible.
The Origin of the Book of Mormon.
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