The Book of Mormon

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This stood out:

*Michael D. Coe, a prominent Mesoamerican archaeologist and Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Yale University, wrote,

“As far as I know there is not one professionally trained archaeologist, who is not a Mormon, who sees any scientific justification for believing the historicity of The Book of Mormon, and I would like to state that there are quite a few Mormon archaeologists who join this group”.*

And this:

*During the period of 1959-1961, NWAF colleague Dee Green was editor of the BYU Archaeological Society Newsletter and had an article from it published in the summer of 1969 edition of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, pp 76–78 in which he acknowledged that the NWAF findings did not back up the veracity of the Book of Mormon claims. After this article and another six years of fruitless search, Thomas Ferguson published a 29-page paper in 1975 where he concluded,

“I’m afraid that up to this point, I must agree with Dee Green, who has told us that to date there is no Book-of-Mormon geography…”.[106]

In 1976, referring to his own paper, Ferguson wrote a letter in which he stated:

“…The real implication of the paper is that you can’t set the Book-of-Mormon geography down anywhere — because it is fictional and will never meet the requirements of the dirt-archeology. I should say — what is in the ground will never conform to what is in the book.”*
Ferguson was the one that I was trying to remember.

His original mission was to prove the BoM correct, at all cost.

The cost in this case was his “testimony”, and as I remember, he left the lds church.
 
Ferguson was the one that I was trying to remember.

His original mission was to prove the BoM correct, at all cost.

The cost in this case was his “testimony”, and as I remember, he left the lds church.
Great link. Thanks.
 
Tex-
Here, for your own personal convenience, is a list of points you never answered.
  1. You claim that Joseph Smith was a racist many times throughout your arguments. However, you never explain how he could have been a racist and held such radically abolitionist views. His political views were a part of the reason he was assassinated in Carthage jail.
  2. You claim that the Book of Mormon is racist. However, you never give me any verses to convince me of this. Rather, you gave me 3 Nephi 2:15-16, which I’ve responded to many times now. Also, you never explain why such a racist book would have a verse like this in it: “For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.” -2 Nephi 26:33
  3. You never gave me any racist quotes by Joseph Smith. I did define your perimeters, but I don’t think they were that ridiculous.
On another note, you never told me how I ever dodged your argument, considering that I responded to it immediately after you offered it to me.
  1. You never got back to me on my request of you to list specific similarities between “Views of the Hebrews” and the BOM. I’ve already admitted that there are some, but I want to address them on a case by case basis, and I don’t want to give give points against myself. You can do this with a quick Google search, there are more than plenty Anti-Mormon websites willing to fill you in.
  2. You never told me how Jeff Lindsay and FAIR have been discredited.
I would like a complete response for each and every one of these points, as well as a similar list of points I never answered. I would be more than happy to respond to such a list. Also, please leave my arguments in their entirety this time.
First of all, thank you for being honest in describing yourself as “LDS”. Unfortunately, you appear to be in the minority, while other LDS run through this website pretending to be “Protestant” or “Catholic” or “Atheists” or "Quakers’.

Secondly, logic uses descrete set of parameters for deciding variables. You do the opposite. You have given a list of variables to determine if a question is logical and if the answer is “something you’d be willing to accept”

We already know what your answers to Tex will be, because we know you have already answered the question in your own mind. Is that quote from Joseph Smith? * No, not that one.* Did Joseph Smith say that about those whites or those blacks? *No, that one was taken out of context. *Is that Joseph Smith a racist and a charlatain. No, not him; he’s a little angel. :angel1:
 
Welcome, Todd.

Yes, I do likewise appreciate honest Mormons. But there is a movement of standardization within Mormonism to let go or cover up alot of their past beliefs.

It is a challenge to affirm what is authentic movement of the Holy Spirit Who is leading the Mormon people, however, gradually to the truth of Christ and Sacred Scripture, and also to point out when Mormonism does not want to reveal its past teachings.

The bottom line, however, in Mormonism is essentially ego-centric, in that the individual is constantly seeking its own perfection, even in the next life.

Catholicism’s enduring value is the mission of holiness by renouncing self and entering into communion with the Holy Spirit through Logos, the Living Word Made Flesh through Scripture and the sacraments, the summit being reception of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the Word Made Flesh.
 
Ok…I would post all the points YOU have dodged, but I am limited to time. However, a decent start is the two sites I posted…one a Mormon Scientist who says I am right,
Please do. I find it extremely difficult to tell what you believe I have and haven’t dodged.
Ok…first, you do not need to be dishonest. I said LDS LEADERS were racist. YOU tried to limit and frame it to Joseph Smith.
Incorrect. Find me a quote that says differently.
You can read some of the horribly racist comments made by LDS Leaders as posted by Kimg. I would love to hear your justification for those remarks. I expect you will continue to dodge them.
I don’t necessarily disagree with you saying that LDS leaders have made racist statements. Prophets aren’t infallible. Didn’t Moses directly disobey The Lord when he was asked to speak to a rock, and instead hit it with his staff? He even went so far as to claim he worked the miracle by himself. Didn’t Nathan lie to David about what The Lord had told him? I’ll agree with you that Brigham Young had a personal prejudice against blacks. This is because he was a product of the age he was raised in. Were Moses or Nathan any less prophets because they disobeyed The Lord? If not, then why should Brigham Young be? If you don’t focus on his faults, you can see the many extraordinary things he did during his lifetime. Also, Joseph Smith was abnormally not a racist.
As to Joe,

In 1838, Joseph Smith answered the following question while en route from Kirtland to Missouri, as follows: “Are the Mormons abolitionists? No … we do not believe in setting the Negroes free.” (Smith 1977, p. 120)
I’m not sure exactly what document you’re referring to. I did an extensive internet search and couldn’t find any book titled “Smith 1977”. Find a reference to the actual book that this came from.
Here’s another quote from JS to think over: “(referring to slavery) it makes my blood boil within me to reflect upon the injustice, cruelty, and oppression of the rulers of the people. When will these things cease to be, and the Constitution and the laws again bear rule?” (History of the Church, 4:544).
But you also ignore the various verses from his book…the book of mormon, where I posted his racists comments. I understand why you igniore them, I am NOT sure why you then later claim I did not respond.
You’ve given me one verse, which I have responded to. You ignore my response and continue to claim that I’m the one that’s been ignoring it.
Actually, I DID. I posted SEVERAL verses from the Book of Mormon showing racism against blacks. Please do not misrepresent what I have posted.
Yet again, you’ve given me one verse, which I have responded to. Also, you never answer why, If Joseph Smith was the racist you let on, he would have included 2 Nephi 26:33 in his book.
Yes, I did. And I reject your redefining my perimeters and ask you to FINALLY respond to the quotes posted by Kimg.
Tex, if you can’t find a quote that’s not taken out of context or from a reputable and confirmable source, it serves no useful purpose anyway. About your point on Kimg’s post: As you may have noticed, I appear to be the only LDS on this thread at the moment. Also, as you may have noticed, I’m getting 7-8 responses to every post I make. As I have stated earlier, I’m on a very cramped schedule at the moment, and I don’t get that much time on the computer. I’m sorry if I can’t post at your desired speed, and I’m sorry if I can’t respond to every post made, but I really am trying.
Yes, I did. I referred you to another thread where BH Roberts even agrees with me.
No you Haven’t. Show me a quote that says otherwise.
You have ignored and dodged it. But here is another site that uses BH Roberts comparison. I expect you will dodge this, too mormonhandbook.com/home/v…e-hebrews.html
Ok, thank you for the link. Can I ask why, whenever I provide you with a Mormon source, you say it has been discredited, however, you can give me a blatantly anti-Mormon website? I’ve already admitted that there are specific similarities between them. However, why would JS quote “View of the Hebrews” as evidence for the BOM if he plagiarized it? Wouldn’t he want to keep it out of the public eye?
ok…here, a Mormon says he is wrong: Bro. Lindsay has done a disservice to his church in this area - he would be best advised to read Baugh’s book, and follow his example.

tungate.com/Missouri_1838.htm

and this is just one example. I do not have time to post all the examples for you…
Your going to need to do a little better than this. You give me one Mormon who says that Lindsay has given an “unkind rebuttal” to a book and all of the sudden he’s been discredited? Also, how has FAIR been discredited?
You already know what you have dodged. I do not have to e babysit you thru this. If you had time to make an inaccurate list against me, you have time to make an accurate for you. I expect you to stop dodging or admit you have no answers.
That’s not quite right. You see, if you believe my list is inaccurate just say something, as you’ve done many times throughout this list. However, I don’t think making a list of points for me to respond to counts as “e babysitting” me. What would you say if I asked you to make a list points you never answered, and then respond to said list?
 
Please do. I find it extremely difficult to tell what you believe I have and haven’t dodged.

U huh. That was just another way of dodging. Heck, I even asked you to go back and address the points in recent posts, but, instead, you make another “tell me” post and what you were asked to respond to falls back deeper and deeper.

Incorrect. Find me a quote that says differently.

Another dodge. A whole list of racist comments were posted. Stop wasting my time and respond to them

I don’t necessarily disagree with you saying that LDS leaders have made racist statements. Prophets aren’t infallible. Didn’t Moses directly disobey The Lord when he was asked to speak to a rock, and instead hit it with his staff?

Ah…so misusing a stick 4000 years ago is the same as making horribly racist comments? One was disobeying God…what your false prophets did was act like God was a racist.

I’m not sure exactly what document you’re referring to. I did an extensive internet search and couldn’t find any book titled “Smith 1977”. Find a reference to the actual book that this came from.

Doesn;t change the fact of the quote.

Here’s another quote from JS to think over: “(referring to slavery) it makes my blood boil within me to reflect upon the injustice, cruelty, and oppression of the rulers of the people. When will these things cease to be, and the Constitution and the laws again bear rule?” (History of the Church, 4:544).

Does not surprise he that he waffled. False prophets do that. heck, the man had 9 different versions of his “first vision”, Stands to reason he woud have at least versions of an opinion.

Yet again, you’ve given me one verse, which I have responded to. Also, you never answer why, If Joseph Smith was the racist you let on, he would have included 2 Nephi 26:33 in his book.

I gave you several verses. But, regardless, your comment is odd. The verses I posted prove my point. Your point seems to be the same as a guy saying, “you only showed me the body of ONE person I killed. That does not make me a killer”

Tex, if you can’t find a quote that’s not taken out of context or from a reputable and confirmable source, it serves no useful purpose anyway.

lol…you have not shown it was taken out of context. You are just using another tired LDS tactic. I don;t blame you. When you have no answers, resort to LDS run aways

oh…and nice dodge of the BH Roberts issue with Ethan Smith. You STILL have shown where it is wrong. Face it, Joe was a con man and you have been conned. Its ok…I was too.
 
Please do. I find it extremely difficult to tell what you believe I have and haven’t dodged.

Incorrect. Find me a quote that says differently.

I don’t necessarily disagree with you saying that LDS leaders have made racist statements. Prophets aren’t infallible. Didn’t Moses directly disobey The Lord when he was asked to speak to a rock, and instead hit it with his staff? He even went so far as to claim he worked the miracle by himself. Didn’t Nathan lie to David about what The Lord had told him? I’ll agree with you that Brigham Young had a personal prejudice against blacks. This is because he was a product of the age he was raised in. Were Moses or Nathan any less prophets because they disobeyed The Lord? If not, then why should Brigham Young be? If you don’t focus on his faults, you can see the many extraordinary things he did during his lifetime. Also, Joseph Smith was abnormally not a racist.

I’m not sure exactly what document you’re referring to. I did an extensive internet search and couldn’t find any book titled “Smith 1977”. Find a reference to the actual book that this came from.
Here’s another quote from JS to think over: “(referring to slavery) it makes my blood boil within me to reflect upon the injustice, cruelty, and oppression of the rulers of the people. When will these things cease to be, and the Constitution and the laws again bear rule?” (History of the Church, 4:544).

You’ve given me one verse, which I have responded to. You ignore my response and continue to claim that I’m the one that’s been ignoring it.

Yet again, you’ve given me one verse, which I have responded to. Also, you never answer why, If Joseph Smith was the racist you let on, he would have included 2 Nephi 26:33 in his book.

Tex, if you can’t find a quote that’s not taken out of context or from a reputable and confirmable source, it serves no useful purpose anyway. About your point on Kimg’s post: As you may have noticed, I appear to be the only LDS on this thread at the moment. Also, as you may have noticed, I’m getting 7-8 responses to every post I make. As I have stated earlier, I’m on a very cramped schedule at the moment, and I don’t get that much time on the computer. I’m sorry if I can’t post at your desired speed, and I’m sorry if I can’t respond to every post made, but I really am trying.

No you Haven’t. Show me a quote that says otherwise.
You have ignored and dodged it. But here is another site that uses BH Roberts comparison. I expect you will dodge this, too mormonhandbook.com/home/v…e-hebrews.html
Ok, thank you for the link. Can I ask why, whenever I provide you with a Mormon source, you say it has been discredited, however, you can give me a blatantly anti-Mormon website? I’ve already admitted that there are specific similarities between them. However, why would JS quote “View of the Hebrews” as evidence for the BOM if he plagiarized it? Wouldn’t he want to keep it out of the public eye?

Your going to need to do a little better than this. You give me one Mormon who says that Lindsay has given an “unkind rebuttal” to a book and all of the sudden he’s been discredited? Also, how has FAIR been discredited?

That’s not quite right. You see, if you believe my list is inaccurate just say something, as you’ve done many times throughout this list. However, I don’t think making a list of points for me to respond to counts as “e babysitting” me. What would you say if I asked you to make a list points you never answered, and then respond to said list?
This thread is about the Book of Mormon which as been proven to be a 19th century work of American fiction. Joseph Smith said it was a true story, therefore he lied about it. You can’t avoid this fact.
 
This thread is about the Book of Mormon which as been proven to be a 19th century work of American fiction. Joseph Smith said it was a true story, therefore he lied about it. You can’t avoid this fact.
That’s your opinion. The Book of Mormon has not been proven to be a 19th century work of fiction.
 
That’s your opinion. The Book of Mormon has not been proven to be a 19th century work of fiction.
You say that the BoM has not been proven to be a 19th century work of fiction. Fine. If we wish to disregard the fact that the DNA evidence completely contradicts the Mormon position, along with horses, elephants, steel weapons, sheep and everything else that is very out of place, I suppose one could hold the position that it still hasn’t been proven to be fiction, as obviously you do, but it seems more than a little unreasonable to many of us.

But here is my question. Does is not bother you that you have exactly zero evidence in favor of proving it to be true? I mean really, one can always say “maybe someone will discover something someday”. With the Christian Scriptures, we can walk on the streets of the cities mentioned in the sacred texts, or at least upon their ruins. We can go and see where certain biblical events occured. Jerusalem is still there, so is Bethlehem and Nazereth and Galilee, the hills, the mountains, the lakes, the rivers. Its all there, just like the Sacred Scriptures say. But we have not one shred of evidence supporting the great civilizations mentioned in the Book of Mormon; none. We have evidence of the ancient cultures that lived in Central and South America; the Mayans, the Incas, the Aztecs, etc… But no evidence for the Lamanites and the Nephites.

Just being honest, can you see why someone might be skeptical?
 
That’s your opinion. The Book of Mormon has not been proven to be a 19th century work of fiction.
Actually, it has. Not a single non-LDS scientist, linguist, archaeologist, geographer, or anyone else, has given the book any credibility. In fact, they have stated there is zero evidence for the book.

Meanwhile, it has been shown that the book was lifted from several sources, including View of Hebrews and the Bible.

The First edition even said it was written by Joseph Smith.
 
You say that the BoM has not been proven to be a 19th century work of fiction. Fine. If we wish to disregard the fact that the DNA evidence completely contradicts the Mormon position, along with horses, elephants, steel weapons, sheep and everything else that is very out of place, I suppose one could hold the position that it still hasn’t been proven to be fiction, as obviously you do, but it seems more than a little unreasonable to many of us.
Steve…you forgot my favorite…chariots

The book is a fable,

There never was an apostasy in the Church, let alone a great apostasy. Just the opposite, the Church grew, guided by the Holy Spirt to all Truth.
 
Dont know if anyone had posted this before but I’m not going to read all the pages to see. I just thought I’d mention that there is a musical on Broadway called the Book of Mormon and it’s apparently a hit. I refuse to see it. It’s even won best musical in the Tony Awards. I’ve made it known that I refuse to see it and my “friends” have criticized me for being critical of it. I honestly don’t care. I won’t change my mind. I can’t wait for it to close.
 
Dont know if anyone had posted this before but I’m not going to read all the pages to see. I just thought I’d mention that there is a musical on Broadway called the Book of Mormon and it’s apparently a hit. I refuse to see it. It’s even won best musical in the Tony Awards. I’ve made it known that I refuse to see it and my “friends” have criticized me for being critical of it. I honestly don’t care. I won’t change my mind. I can’t wait for it to close.
Having not read any of the posts on this thread, and what it is really about, your post is totally off topic.

With that said, the Book of Mormon play on Broadway, is a parody and a musical, which means it is not a documentary.

It won 9 Tony award, and 1 Grammy award, as well as several others.

Not bad I would say. I’d go see a road production of it.

Now, back to topic 😃
 
Having not read any of the posts on this thread, and what it is really about, your post is totally off topic.

With that said, the Book of Mormon play on Broadway, is a parody and a musical, which means it is not a documentary.

It won 9 Tony award, and 1 Grammy award, as well as several others.

Not bad I would say. I’d go see a road production of it.

Now, back to topic 😃
I’m going to see it in a few weeks, with a Mormon relative, so…I don’t know why it needs to have a boycott. An unlikely audience we’ll make. A true believing Mormon and one who sees Smith and his claims as ludicrous. I think it is going to be fun.

Without reading the thread, I can see how someone might add “Musical” to the end of the thread title.
 
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